REIGN PREVIEW 1/4 – Ontario vs. Coachella Valley

WHO: Ontario Reign (19-8-0-1) vs. Coachella Valley Firebirds (15-11-1-4)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #29
WHEN: Saturday, January 4 @ 6:00 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: After a win in their first game of 2025 on Friday, the Ontario Reign complete their weekend at home Saturday night when they face-off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the seventh meeting of the season between the I-10 rivals at Toyota Arena.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: With their ninth victory in their last 10 games Friday, the Reign leapt back into second place in the Pacific Division standings with 39 points and are eight points back of the top-ranked Calgary Wranglers with five games in hand. This season Ontario has posted a 10-5-0 record at home, which includes wins from their past five contests at Toyota Arena dating back to Dec. 8. Coachella Valley is coming off a 4-1 win over Colorado on Tuesday night which ended their 2024 schedule on a high note. The Firebirds are tied for fourth place in the standings with 35 points. Ontario holds the third-highest scoring offense in the AHL, averaging 3.61 goals per game, while also posting the third-most shots on goal per contest (32.0). Coachella Valley has earned points in six of their seven road games when they’ve been tied after the first period (5-1-1-0).

LAST TIME OUT: Three third period goals powered the Ontario Reign to a 4-1 win over the San Diego Gulls Friday night at Toyota Arena, the 10th straight game they’ve earned points from during a 9-0-0-1 stretch. Jack Studnicka scored the game-winning goal early in the third, while Jeff Malott and Francesco Pinelli each added a goal and an assist and Caleb Jones registered two helpers. In net, Pheonix Copley improved his record to 10-4-0 on the year with 22 saves.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Firebirds had emerged victorious from the first three matchups between the I-10 rivals to begin the 2024-25 season, but Ontario has won the most recent three to even up the season series. The Reign had back-to-back wins on consecutive days Dec. 20-21 by scores of 4-1 and 4-2 before earning a 4-3 shootout win in Palm Desert on Dec. 28. Forward Ryan Winterton has led the way for Coachella Valley in the series with six points on three goals and three assists. Forward Jani Nyman also has three tallies against Ontario, while Lleyton Roed has totaled five points on two goals and three helpers and Jagger Firkus has five with a goal and four assists. Samuel Fagemo is the scoring leader for the Reign in the series with five points on four goals and an assist. He also scored the winning shootout goal against Coachella Valley last time out. In addition, Jacob Doty (2-2=4), Charles Hudon (1-3=4), Francesco Pinelli (3-1=4) and Jeff Malott (2-2=4) all have four points vs. the Firebirds. A year ago, Ontario won four of the eight matchups against Coachella Valley during 2023-24 with a record of 4-3-0-1.

PINELLI STAYS HOT: Forward Francesco Pinelli scored twice during the first period of Ontario’s 4-3 shootout loss in San Diego last Friday night for his first-career multi-goal effort. He’s followed that performance up with goals in each of the next three games against Coachella Valley, Henderson and most recently San Diego again on Friday. That gives him goals in four straight, the longest run of his professional career. Pinelli found the back of the net six times during December and the Stoney Creek, Ontario native now has nine tallies while appearing in all the club’s 28 games during his sophomore season. The former second-round selection by the LA Kings in the 2021 NHL Draft has 16 total points to his name (9-7=16), just four shy from his 20 he posted as a rookie. Through 94 career AHL contests over the past two campaigns, Pinelli has 22 goals and 14 assists for 36 points.

SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS: Coachella Valley advanced to the Calder Cup Finals in each of its first two seasons in the AHL but came up short of the league’s title both times, falling to the eventual champion Hershey Bears. The Firebirds have finished both of their first two regular seasons with 103 total points in the Pacific Division standings, earning a first-place finish and a bye in the opening round of the postseason last year. Forward Ben Meyers has made a big impact on the scoresheet in his first season with the Firebirds and currently leads the team in scoring with 22 points in 25 games on 10 goals and 12 assists. There’s a four-way tie for the second-highest scorer on the team, with Jani Nyman (9-9=18), Ryan Winterton (9-9=18), John Hayden (7-11=18) and Jagger Firkus (6-12=18) all having totaled 18 points. Defender Max Lajoie is first in scoring among the team’s blueliners with 16 points on two goals and 14 assists. While Ales Stezka has garnered the majority of playing time in goal, appearing in 18 games with a .906 save percentage, rookie Nikke Kokko has the better record, going 9-2-1 in 13 contests with a 2.56 goals-against average.

DECEMBER TO REMEMBER: The Reign saved their best for last in 2024, capping off the calendar year with their most successful month, an 8-1-0-1 record from 10 contests for a .850 points percentage. That also included a season-high six-game winning streak that spanned from Dec. 7-21. Despite playing in only seven of the 10 games, forward Charles Hudon led the team with nine points in the month on five goals and four assists. Attackers Jeff Malott and Francesco Pinelli each had eight points, with Malott earning three goals and five helpers while Pinelli recorded six goals and two assists. Samuel Fagemo was even with Pinelli for the most goals during December, with each posting six apiece, and Tyler Madden had a team-high six assists despite being held without a goal. Netminder Erik Portillo was unbeaten during regulation in the month, going 5-0-0-1 from six appearances with a 2.24 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.

COMEBACK KINGS: Ontario has been very comfortable with coming from behind during its recent stretch of hot play which includes nine wins from the last 10 games they’ve contested. In eight of the nine victories, the team has successfully eliminated a deficit before coming out on top. Overall, 11 of the team’s 19 wins have been in come-from-behind fashion, including eight when they’ve surrendered the first goal of the game. With all their success late in games, the Reign have outscored opponents a combined 38-21 in the third period this season.

Reign Check Gameday Forecast

2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. Coachella Valley:
Fri., Oct. 25 at Coachella Valley, 2-5 L – Full Recap
Fri., Nov. 8 vs. Coachella Valley, 3-4 L – Full Recap
Sun., Nov 10 at Coachella Valley, 2-4 L – Full Recap
Fri., Dec. 20 at Coachella Valley, 4-1 W – Full Recap
Sat., Dec. 21 vs. Coachella Valley, 4-2 W – Full Recap
Sat., Dec. 28 at Coachella Valley, 4-3 W (SO) – Full Recap
Sat., Jan. 4 vs. Coachella Valley, 6 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 25 vs. Coachella Valley, 6 p.m.