REIGN PREVIEW 12/18 – Ontario vs. Calgary

WHO: Ontario Reign (13-8-0-0) vs. Calgary Wranglers (19-7-1-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #22
WHEN: Wednesday, December 18 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: KCAL+ / FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: A midweek matchup at Toyota Arena in Ontario will feature the Reign against the Pacific Division-leading Calgary Wranglers. Wednesday’s contest is the first of eight meetings between the two teams this season.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Reign have made the most of nights when they’ve started on the right foot, earning wins in all nine games they’ve scored first this season. Ontario is carrying a three-game win streak into Wednesday’s contest, part of a stretch that’s seen them secure nine victories in their last 11 outings. Calgary holds first place in the Pacific Division and is tied with Hershey at the top of the AHL league standings with 39 points from its first 27 games. The Wranglers have played six more contests than Ontario, which holds a tie for sixth in the division with 26 points in 21 games. Both teams are among the league’s best offenses, with Calgary ranking second with 3.74 goals per game, while the Reign are currently third with 3.62 tallies per contest. The Wranglers, who dropped two straight in Coachella Valley over the weekend, are the third-best defensive team in the AHL, allowing just 2.59 goals per night.

LAST TIME OUT: The Ontario Reign erased a two-goal deficit in the third period and hung on to defeat the San Jose Barracuda 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.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Reign secured points from six of their eight meetings with Calgary during 2023-24, earning a 5-2-0-1 record in the season series. Ontario managed to claim three points from the teams’ first series of the year last November and then split with the Wranglers north of the border in January. After Calgary earned a win in Ontario in February, the Reign returned to Calgary the following month and claimed their first-ever sweep inside the Scotiabank Saddledome before closing the series with a win in Ontario the following week. Ontario outscored the Wranglers 26-16 in this season’s series and had six power play goals on 29 opportunities (20.6%) while killing off 27 of Calgary’s 32 chances (84.3%). Samuel Fagemo led Ontario with nine points in the series on seven goals and two assists. Adam Klapka had six points against the Reign for Calgary on two goals and four helpers.

GORDIE JAMSEN: Forward Aatu Jamsen posted the second multi-point performance of his rookie season Sunday, his most memorable night in a Reign sweater thus far. The Lahti, Finland native, who has a flair for the dramatic, earned a ‘Gordie Howe Hat Trick’ in the third period of Ontario’s 5-4 shootout win with a goal, an assist and a fighting major. Jamsen helped the Reign tie the game at 3-3 with the primary assist on Shawn Element’s fifth goal of the season at 5:52 of the third before scoring himself to even the contest at 4-4 with 4:50 remaining on the clock. Two minutes after his goal, Jamsen found himself in an altercation with San Jose’s Tristen Robins and dropped the gloves for the first time in his short professional career. The rookie was named the first star of the game for his efforts, which increased his point total to six (3-3=6) through 14 appearances with Ontario.

SCOUTING THE WRANGLERS: Forward Rory Kerins has racked up 29 points in Calgary’s first 27 games to lead the team. His total is also tied atop the league’s leaderboard alongside Cleveland’s Luca Del Bel Belluz. Kerins’ 18 goals are second-most in the AHL, behind Hershey’s Ethen Frank (19). Dryden Hunt is second on the team with 25 points, totaling six goals and 19 assists, which rank third in the league. Forward Clark Bishop has 21 points including 11 goals, which matches the nine-year veteran’s career-high. Former Reign forward Martin Frk is also in the Calgary lineup and has posted 17 points on seven goals and 10 assists in 23 games. Defender Ilya Solovyov paces the blueliners with 15 points on four goals and nine assists. Devin Cooley has led the Wranglers in net with a 14-3-0 record from 18 appearances, a league-best 0.942 save percentage and a stellar 1.80 goals-against average. Cooley’s win total leads the AHL, while Waltteri Ignatjew has also seen action between the pipes in nine contests.

JUST CALL HIM HU-DINI: Forward Charles Hudon scored for the second straight outing Sunday, netting the first goal of the win over San Jose on a rush in the first period. The strike built off his performance the week prior, which featured his second three-point effort of the season with two goals and an assist in a 5-3 win over Bakersfield. The Alma, Quebec native’s nine goals are tied for second-most among Ontario forwards this season, behind only Samuel Fagemo (12). The former fifth-round selection by Montreal in 2012 has 17 points from his first 21 games this season after finishing 2023-24 with 54 points in 56 outings with 20 goals and 34 assists. Hudon scored 10 of his 20 goals on the power play a season ago and previously led the AHL in power play goals when he totaled 17 as a member of the Colorado Eagles during 2022-23.

EARLY STARTS SPELL SUCCESS: Ontario has a 9-0-0 record when it scores the first goal this season and is the only team without a loss of any kind when they net the opening tally of the night. The nine wins feature three come-from-behind victories, including their most recent triumph over San Jose which had two comebacks in the third period. The Reign also own a 7-2-0 mark when leading after the first period and an unblemished 8-0-0 record when they enter the second intermission with an advantage on the scoreboard.

2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. Calgary (all times Pacific):
Wed., Dec. 18 vs. Calgary, 7 p.m.
Sun., Jan. 19 vs. Calgary, 3 p.m.
Tue., Jan. 21 vs. Calgary, 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 15 at Calgary, 1 p.m.
Mon., Feb. 17 at Calgary, 1:30 p.m.
Sun., Feb. 23 vs. Calgary, 3 p.m.
Sat., Apr. 5 at Calgary, 12:30 p.m.
Mon., Apr. 7 at Calgary, 6 p.m.