REIGN PREVIEW 1/8 – Ontario at Henderson

WHO: Ontario Reign (19-9-0-1) at Henderson Silver Knights (9-22-1-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #30
WHEN: Wednesday, January 8 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Lee’s Family Forum – Henderson, NV
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign are set for a mid-week matchup in Henderson on Wednesday night against the Silver Knights at Lee’s Family Forum. The contest is the sixth of eight meetings between the two teams this season.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ontario ended its 2024 calendar year with a win in Henderson, and they’ll attempt to complete a season-sweep of the Silver Knights from their four games played in the Silver State on Wednesday. The Reign have out-scored Henderson 12-6 in the first three outcomes at Lee’s Family Forum this season. Ontario is tied for third place in the AHL’s Pacific Division standings with 39 points through 29 contests this season. The Silver Knights are coming off a 4-1 win over Bakersfield on Sunday but remains at the bottom of the table in 10th place with just 19 points. Ontario holds the third-highest scoring offense in the AHL, averaging 3.59 goals per game, while also posting the third-most shots on goal per contest (32.1). Henderson is the fifth-most penalized team in the league this season, averaging 14.5 penalty minutes per game.

LAST TIME OUT: Despite holding a 35-23 edge in shots on goal, the Ontario Reign’s third period comeback came up short as the team was unable to overcome a third period deficit and fell 4-3 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Saturday night at Toyota Arena. All three Reign goals came from players who also scored the previous night before during a win over San Diego on Friday, with Jack Studnicka, Samuel Fagemo and Jeff Malott each finding the back of the net while Charles Hudon returned to the lineup and earned two assists.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Reign have won four of their five previous meetings with Henderson this season, outscoring the Silver Knights by a 21-14 margin. The shot totals have been more lopsided, with the Ontario putting 190 shots on net while the Silver Knights have managed 143. Both clubs have fared well against the other on the power play, with the Reign netting five man-advantage tallies in the series to earn a success rate of 26.3%, while Henderson also has five PP tallies, scoring on 20.8% of its chances. Glenn Gawdin leads Ontario with eight points from the five previous contests against Henderson on three goals and five assists. Samuel Fagemo has also chipped in six points in the series with three goals and three helpers, while Charles Hudon has registered three goals and two assists. The Silver Knights have been led by forward Tanner Laczynski and defenders Calen Addison and Robert Hagg in the series, who have each totaled five points. Laczynski has two goals and three helpers, while Addison and Hagg have each recorded five assists. A year ago, the Reign won five of the eight matchups against Henderson during the 2023-24 regular season, posting a record of 5-1-1-1 that included three multi-goal victories.

TOP NOTCH TANDEM: Ontario goaltenders Pheonix Copley and Erik Portillo have both turned in impressive performances this season, each ranking among the league’s top netminders with similar statistical numbers. The backstops’ goals-against averages are within 0.01 of each other, with Portillo holding a 2.58 while Copley’s is at 2.59. Copley has one more game played (14) than Portillo (13) and one additional win, with the veteran holding a 10-4-0 record while the second-year netminder is 9-3-1. Portillo’s save percentage is 0.907 for the year, while Copley’s sits at 0.903. The two goaltenders have combined to play in 27 of Ontario’s 29 games during the 2024-25 campaign.

SCOUTING THE SILVER KNIGHTS: Henderson is aiming to move out of the basement in the Pacific Division standings after a slow start to the 2024-25 season. The Silver Knights missed out on the Calder Cup Playoffs a year ago, finishing as the first team out of postseason competition in eighth place in the Pacific Division standings. Forward Tanner Laczynski leads the team in scoring with 22 points on six goals and 16 assists while appearing in 19 of the club’s 32 games this year. Laczynski has produced assists in six straight home games at Lee’s Family Forum. Grigori Denisenko is just behind him with 20 points on seven goals and 13 helpers, while rookie forward Braeden Bowman has 15 points on eight goals and seven helpers. Robert Hagg and Calen Addison have led the team’s defenders on the offensive end with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Carl Lindbom has been getting more opportunities in between the pipes recently, and has a team-high 0.910 save percentage. Akira Schmid has played in 17 of Henderson’s games on the year and has a save percentage of 0.895.

SIZZLIN’ STUDNICKA: Reign forward Jack Studnicka has been at his best over the past week, scoring in three consecutive games for the first time since he was in his rookie campaign with the Providence Bruins during 2019-20. Studnicka scored in Henderson against the Silver Knights on New Year’s Eve, tying the game midway through the second period. He followed that up with goals at home against San Diego on Friday and Coachella Valley on Saturday, giving him seven tallies in 29 games this season. The Windsor, Ontario native had goal-scoring streaks of both three and six games while with the P-Bruins during a rookie campaign that consisted of 23 tallies and 49 points in 60 games. Studnicka’s goal on Friday held up as the game-winner, giving him a new AHL career-high with two winning strikes this season.

HOT OUT OF THE GATE: Ontario has been almost unbeatable when they’ve scored first this season, compiling a record of 11-0-0-1 after netting the opening goal of the game during 2024-25. The Reign have secured a 23 of a possible 24 points after scoring first, a 0.958 points percentage. In the 17 games in which they allowed an opening strike, Ontario has been able to successfully come from behind to win during eight of them. The Reign are 8-2-0-1 when leading after 20 minutes this season and 7-2-0-0 from the nine games they’ve been even with their opponent at the end of the first period.

Reign Check Gameday Forecast

2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. Henderson:
Sun., Oct. 27 vs. Henderson, 1-5 L – Full Recap
Fri., Nov. 1 at Henderson, 4-1 W – Full Recap
Sat., Nov 2 vs. Henderson, 8-3 W – Full Recap
Wed., Nov. 20 at Henderson, 4-2 W – Full Recap
Tue., Dec. 31 at Henderson, 4-3 W – Full Recap
Wed., Jan. 8 at Henderson, 7 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 18 vs. Henderson, 6 p.m.
Sun., Mar. 16 vs. Henderson, 3 p.m.