REIGN PREVIEW 11/29 – Ontario vs. Texas

WHO: Ontario Reign (8-7-0-0) vs. Texas Stars (9-6-0-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #16
WHEN: Friday, November 29 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: KCAL+ / FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign are back at Toyota Arena for their final home game of November on Black Friday against the Texas Stars.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ontario has won seven of its last 10 games, moving above the .500 mark for the first time this season. At the start of the weekend, they hold eighth place in the Pacific Division standings with 16 points. Texas has a record of 9-6-0 from 15 games and is third in the Central Division. Ontario ranks fourth in the AHL offensively, averaging 3.60 goals per game. The Stars have also been an offensively focused team, averaging 3.87 goals per game, ranking second in the league. Texas is the sixth-best power play team in the AHL, converting on 21.7% of their man-advantage chances. Ontario has done well on the penalty kill as of late, discarding 18 of their opponents’ last 19 power play chances to move up to 15th in the league in that category.

LAST TIME OUT: The Ontario Reign scored twice in the final five minutes of the first period and never relinquished the lead on their way to a 4-1 victory over the San Diego Gulls in the opening contest of this season’s SoCal Series on Saturday night at Pechanga Arena. Glenn Gawdin led the way for Ontario with three assists against his former team, while Jack Studnicka and Jeff Malott each posted a goal and an assist and goaltender Erik Portillo turned out 33 of 34 shots to earn the win between the pipes.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Friday’s matchup is the first between Ontario and Texas since the 2018-19 season when the clubs split a two-game series with each side winning in its home building. The Reign secured a 5-3 victory on Nov. 1, 2018, with former forwards Matt Luff and Sheldon Rempal each scoring twice while Brett Sutter recorded two assists. The Stars responded with a 5-1 win in Texas on Dec. 29 of that year which saw 21 saves from goaltender Landon Bow and had Sutter produce the lone Ontario goal. The teams also met the year prior in the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs, with the Stars securing a series win in four games, which included two overtime contests. Texas went on to play in the Calder Cup Finals that year, losing to the Toronto Marlies in seven games. The last time the teams played each other four times in a single season was during 2017-18 when Ontario won three of the four matchups.

OH MY GAWDIN: Forward Glenn Gawdin’s three-assist night on Saturday was his fourth multi-point effort in Ontario’s last five games. He’s now the leader among AHL skaters in scoring during the month of November, posting 19 points in 10 games on seven goals and 12 assists. Overall, Gawdin’s 20 total points rank third in the league. The Richmond, B.C. native also has a +11 rating in November, which is tied for the best mark in the league during the month. The former fourth-round pick by St. Louis in 2015 is coming off a career-high of 55 points last year with the Gulls, scoring 22 goals and 33 assists in 70 outings. In 343 games during his AHL career with Stockton, San Diego and Ontario, Gawdin has totaled 256 points on 92 goals and 164 assists.

SCOUTING THE STARS: Texas is beginning a six-game road trip through the Pacific with two matchups against Ontario, Coachella Valley and Henderson. Rookie forward Justin Hryckowian is the Stars’ scoring leader through 15 contests with 16 points on five goals and 11 assists. Anthonio Stranges has also chipped in with 15 points in 13 games on six goals and nine helpers, and Kole Lind has been a factor with six goals and seven assists for 13 points. Blueliners Christian Kyrou, Alex Petrovic and Kyle Capobianco each have nine points this season which has them tied for the team scoring lead among blueliners. In goal, Magnus Hellberg has played in nine of Texas’s contests and has a 7-2-0 record with a goals-against average of 2.78 along with a 0.911 save percentage. Remi Poirier has also seen action in five games.

MALOTT MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Forward Jeff Malott has recorded points in nine of his last 10 games for Ontario and is now second on the team in overall scoring with 15 points on two goals and 13 assists this season. Most recently, Malott scored his second goal of the season early in the third period Saturday night to push the Reign’s lead over the Gulls to two before assisting on Charles Hudon’s empty-net strike in the final minutes. The fifth-year forward has appeared in all 15 of the Reign’s games this season and has been part of the club’s top forward line alongside Gawdin and Hudon. Malott, a Waterdown, Ontario native, had a career-high 52 points in 70 games a year ago while playing for the Manitoba Moose, scoring 22 goals and 30 assists. It was his third consecutive 20-goal season with Manitoba, where he played from 2020-24, totaling 237 AHL games. An undrafted attacker out of Cornell University, Malott made his NHL debut with the Winnipeg Jets in March of 2022.

WALSH, RINSE, REPEAT: Defender Reilly Walsh has been effective in all three zones for the Reign this season and has found his stride offensively as of late, scoring points in four of his last five outings. The North Falmouth, Mass. native scored in three straight games earlier in the month, including both of Ontario’s contests in Colorado and picked up an assist on Saturday in San Diego on Jeff Malott’s goal in the first minute of the third. The 25-year-old defender played his 250th pro game a week ago. His career has consisted of 137 points on 36 goals and 101 assists. A year ago, Walsh totaled 28 points with the Providence Bruins on nine goals and 19 helpers. The right-handed blueliner was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft.