Glenn Gawdin scored twice and Pheonix Copley stopped 25 of 26 shots as the Ontario Reign (10-7-0-0) held on to a two-goal lead from the first period all the way through in a 3-1 win over the Bakersfield Condors (7-8-2-1) at Mechanics Bank Arena on Saturday night.
Samuel Fagemo also found the back of the net for Ontario in the first period, scoring for the fourth straight game, and Charles Hudon assisted on two of the Reign’s three goals in the victory.
Ontario opened the scoring at the two-minute mark of the first when Reilly Walsh found Fagemo on the left circle for a power play strike just 12 seconds into the Reign’s first man-advantage of the game. The attacker’s one-timer for his 10th goal of the season made it 1-0 and also had a second helper credited to Hudon.
The Condors responded to tie the game at 1-1 less than a minute later when Alex Swetlikoff scored his first goal of the year at 2:50, triggering a delay in play for Bakersfield’s Teddy Bear Toss.
But Ontario didn’t lose momentum after the delay and re-took the lead at 6:06 of the opening period on Gawdin’s first of the night, which came on a pinpoint deflection of a shot from the left point by Joe Hicketts. Jeff Malott also recorded an assist on the strike.
Gawdin followed up with his second goal of the period and ninth of the year at 11:20 to push the Reign’s lead out to 3-1. The tally had a single helper credited to Hudon.
Ontario controlled their advantage for the remainder of the game, out-shooting Bakersfield 37-26 overall on the night with more shots to the net than their opponents in each of the three periods.
The Reign have now won all eight games this season in which they have scored the first goal.
Fagemo’s power play goal was the lone tally of the contest on the man-advantage, with Ontario going 1-for-4 while holding the Condors to an 0-for-2 mark. Bakersfield goaltender Olivier Rodrigue turned out 34 of the Reign’s 37 shots on goal in a losing effort.
Postgame reactions from defender Jack Millar and head coach Marco Sturm are below –
Jack Millar
Marco Sturm
On the way his team controlled the game
From the first to the last minute, I thought we played our best 60 minutes of the season. We just were dialed in. Everyone was dialed in. Rolled the four lines, short shifts, everyone was sharp. Back-to-back night, it’s not as easy either, with the travel and having a good goalie that helps too.
On how the Teddy Bear Toss affected the game
Maybe it was a good thing. I don’t know, but it’s always a tricky game. It’s a good cause, but it kind of screws your rhythm a little bit for both sides. We stayed pretty calm, even though they scored and I think the first shift after we came out right away just like we started the game. 60 minutes of really good hockey. They played well, they skated well, they put us on our heels a couple times, but you know what? We stayed calm and always had an answer for it.
On Copley’s play, winning games on consecutive nights
I could tell he’s really, really comfortable right now. It’s not easy coming back from that injury, and it took him a little bit. But the last few weeks, you could see it already in practice. You could see it in the games now, how calm he is. And this is the old Pheonix Copley like we’ve seen in the past and for us as a team and you look at our inexperienced back end it’s pretty nice to have a guy like him and another great effort from him tonight.
On the team’s play in November
It’s a lot of lot of new faces, new system, a little bit compared to last year so it took us a little bit. A lot of moving pieces. But now I think guys understand how we want to play, how we are as a team, as a identity, and the new guys, they’re buying in and everyone is believing in each other, and also the system we play and that makes it easier for us coaches, easier for the team. It’s fun to watch right now. These guys, they’re having fun and they work hard and they get rewarded.
The Reign are back on the Toyota Arena ice for their next game Tuesday night against the Texas Stars at 7 p.m.
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