REIGN PREVIEW 12/27 – Ontario at San Diego

WHO: Ontario Reign (16-8-0-0) at San Diego Gulls (8-16-1-2)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #25
WHEN: Friday, December 27 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Pechanga Arena – San Diego, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: In their return to the ice after the league’s holiday break, the Ontario Reign will travel to San Diego for a matchup with the Gulls on Friday night at Pechanga Arena.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Reign aim to continue their vault upward in the standings, which has recently consisted of six straight wins and victories in 12 of their last 14 outings dating back to mid-November. Ontario returns to the ice while locked in a tie for third place in the Pacific Division standings alongside Tucson, with each club having secured 32 points this season. San Diego entered the break on a four-game skid and currently sits in ninth place with 19 points. The Reign hold the second-highest scoring offense in the AHL, averaging 3.58 goals per game, while posting the fourth-most shots on goal per contest (31.67). San Diego has earned points in each of its last four games, going 3-0-0-1 with their lone defeat coming in a shootout to the Reign on Dec. 7.

LAST TIME OUT: A three-goal second period helped the Ontario Reign dig out of an early two-goal hole and come back to defeat the Coachella Valley Firebirds by a score of 4-2 on Saturday night at Toyota Arena. The victory extended Ontario’s current winning streak to six games, the longest active run in the AHL, with all the decisions in come-from-behind fashion. Jacob Doty led the way with a goal and an assist, while Charles Hudon and Tyler Madden each picked up a pair of helpers.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Ontario has claimed victories in both of its previous matchups against San Diego this season which have each come at Pechanga Arena. The Reign defeated the Gulls 4-1 on Nov. 23, scoring twice in the final five minutes of the first period and remaining in front the rest of the way. Glenn Gawdin led the offense for the Reign that night with three assists against his former team, while Jack Studnicka and Jeff Malott each posted a goal and an assist and goaltender Erik Portillo stopped 33 of 34 shots to earn the win. Ontario then pulled out a 2-1 decision in a shootout on Dec. 7, outshooting their rivals by a 38-22 margin but overcoming a penalty in overtime. Andre Lee scored the Reign’s lone regulation goal that night while Taylor Ward had the only strike in the skill session. Neither team has been able to score a power play goal against the other in the two contests.

FAGEMO TRIGGERS TEDDY BEAR TOSS: With his third goal of the weekend against Coachella Valley on Saturday, Reign forward Samuel Fagemo got his team on the board and set off the club’s Teddy Bear Toss event, with Ontario faithful tossing thousands of stuffed animals on the ice surface at 6:09 of the second period. The Goteborg, Sweden native’s 15th tally of the leads all Reign skaters and ranks tied for fifth among all AHL skaters. Fagemo has goals in three of his last four games and points in nine of his last 11 contests. The right-handed shooter is already Ontario’s all-time leading goal scorer with 118 goals in his AHL career, and is just shy of a point-per-game pace this year with 22 in 24 contests. A year ago, Fagemo set career-highs with 43 goals and 62 points in 50 games and led the league with 19 power play goals, the most any skater has ever scored in a Reign sweater.

SCOUTING THE GULLS: San Diego comes into Friday’s contest looking to snap a recent skid which has seen them fall seven points behind eighth-place Bakersfield in the standings. Rookie forward Sam Colangelo, who recently returned from a recall to Anaheim by the Ducks, leads the team with 18 points on 10 goals and eight assists in 19 outings. Yegor Sidorov has come on as of late with nine points in his last eight contests and is second on the club with 17 points on eight goals and nine helpers. Captain Ryan Carpenter also has 13 points in 27 games on four goals and nine assists. Roland McKeown leads all Gulls defenders with 15 points in 27 games on eight goals and seven assists. In goal, Calle Clang has played in 18 of San Diego’s contests and has a goals-against average of 3.22 along with a 0.893 save percentage. Oscar Dansk has also seen action in 13 games.

ELEMENT-ARY, MY DEAR WATSON: Forward Shawn Element now has a point streak of four games, with goals in three of the four contests including a third period insurance strike against Coachella Valley on Saturday night. Element also assisted on a first period goal by Francesco Pinelli on Friday during a win in Palm Desert and scored in back-to-back home contests against San Jose and Calgary. The Victoriaville, Quebec native is now more than halfway to his career-high of 18 points, which he reached in each of the last two seasons while with the Syracuse Crunch. Overall, Element has produced 11 points on seven goals and four helpers through 23 appearances this year with Ontario.

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 it nets the opening tally of the night. The nine wins feature three come-from-behind victories, including a recent win over San Jose on Dec. 15 which featured 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.

Reign Check Gameday Forecast

2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. San Diego:
Sat., Nov. 23 at San Diego, 4-1 W – Full Recap
Sat., Dec. 7 at San Diego, 2-1 W – Full Recap
Fri., Dec. 27 at San Diego, 7 p.m.
Fri., Jan. 3 vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 8 vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 7 vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 8 at San Diego, 6 p.m.
Fri., Apr. 18 vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.