The Ontario Reign (12-8-0-0) erased a two goal deficit in the third period and hung on to defeat the San Jose Barracuda (15-7-0-1) in a shootout by a 5-4 score on Sunday night at Toyota Arena.
Aatu Jamsen and Shawn Element each scored a goal and an assist in the win for the Reign, while Tyler Madden picked up two assists and Erik Portillo stopped 26 shots to earn the victory for Ontario.
Charles Hudon put the home team in front first with his ninth goal of the season at 7:55 of the opening period, scoring on a partial breakaway in the SJ zone off a pass by Glenn Gawdin. His shot beat goaltender Georgi Romanov under the glove to give Ontario a 1-0 advantage and the team went into the first intermission with the early lead while outshooting the Cuda 13-6.
Things turned in the second, however, as Danil Gushchin tied the game for San Jose at 7:00 with a power play tally. Less than two minutes later, Lucas Carlsson made it 2-1 for the Barracuda with another man-advantage strike at 8:48.
San Jose extended their lead to 3-1, the largest of the game, on a shot by Thomas Bordeleau at 12:22 of the second period.
Ontario entered the third down by a pair, but dug themselves out of that hole in the first six minutes with back-to-back goals of their own. First, Samuel Fagemo deflected a shot by Angus Booth past Romanov to make it 3-2, netting his team-leading 12th goal of the campaign at 4:19. The second assist on the play went to Arthur Kaliyev, who got on the scoresheet in his first appearance of the season on a conditioning loan from the LA Kings.
Then Element tied the contest moments later at 5:52 after a long shift in the offensive end that produced multiple Reign opportunities at the San Jose net. The goal was scored off a centering feed by Jamsen off the left-wing boards that Element wristed into the goal from the slot. Madden earned the second helper on the strike.
The Barracuda went back in front 4-3 at 8:26 of the third on a goal by Ethan Cardwell, which came on a 2-on-1 rush off a feed by Andrew Poturalski.
But Jamsen got Ontario even once more with under five minutes remaining in regulation at 15:10. Jamen’s linemates Madden and Element both produced helpers on the tying goal, which was Jamsen’s third strike of the season.
Three minutes later, Jamsen was dragged into a fight by San Jose’s Tristen Robins, dropping the gloves for the first time in his career. Combined with the goal and assist, the fight gave Jamsen a ‘Gordie Howe Hat Trick’ performance.
The game remained tied at 4-4 through overtime and into the shootout, where Kaliyev and Taylor Ward converted for Ontario, while Portillo denied Gushchin and Poturalski on the Barracuda’s two attempts.
San Jose had a big night on special teams despite the loss, going 2-for-3 on the power play while holding Ontario to an 0-for-3 mark on the man-advantage. The Reign held a 47-30 edge in shots on goal during the 65-minute contest, with Romanov denying 42 shots for the Cuda during the contest.
Postgame reactions from Element and head coach Marco Sturm are below –
Shawn Element
On the contributions from his line
It felt great to see all three of us grinding the whole game. We built on the first period, the second period. I mean, second period wasn’t really our best, but just think about playing with emotion. We had it and we contributed. It was great.
On Jamsen’s pass for his goal
With the skill set that he has, there’s no chance that that puck wasn’t coming to me. He made a perfect pass right on my blade. If I hold on, it’s probably not a goal. So as quick as I can, there it is, we scored again.
On the comeback
When you look at it, the first period felt good. The second period was really a tough one. But like I said, with the emotion we had during the intermission talking about it, it felt like we were a new team. We wanted more, and we wanted to win that game. It’s a little bit different than what we did in the second period when we were waiting a bit. We wanted it and it made a huge difference that helped us.
Arthur Kaliyev
Marco Sturm
On Jamsen recording a Gordie Howe Hat Trick
Good for him. He scored a big goal. That whole line scored two goals today when we definitely needed some energy, needed some light, especially after that second period. That’s the line that gave us that.
On being down after the 2nd period
I think they needed a wake up call. It was a big roller coaster, a lot of ups and downs. We actually had a decent first period but from the start of the second period, there were no emotions, not our game. We didn’t do the little things right. Took stupid penalties, got behind 3-1. That just can’t happen. I told the guys top teams don’t do that but I’m glad they came back in the third.
On the leaders of his team
You know the first line has always been very solid and consistent. They’ve been our motor pretty much all year long. They give us good energy, lots of goals, a lot of points but at the end of the day even in the past, and the last few years since I’ve been here, I think what makes us well, is the team. There’s not one individual, it’s not a line, but it always seems like it’s the team. We need everyone. Now we have four solid lines and good goaltending, so there’s no excuses. Somehow one line always finds a way to get us going. You want to be consistent, but that’s what we are all about. That’s our identity. One night could be this line or could be another line. They’ve been pretty good about that.
The Reign will be back on the Toyota Arena ice Wednesday night when they face the Calgary Wranglers for the first time this season at 7 p.m.
Rules for Blog Commenting
Repeated violations of the blog rules will result in site bans, commensurate with the nature and number of offenses.
Please flag any comments that violate the site rules for moderation. For immediate problems regarding problematic posts, please email zdooley@lakings.com.