REIGN PREVIEW 1/31 – Ontario at Tucson

WHO: Ontario Reign (24-14-1-1) at Tucson Roadrunners (19-18-2-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #41
WHEN: Friday, January 31 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Tucson Convention Center – Tucson, AZ
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign are in Arizona for the first time during the 2024-25 season and set for a two-game series with the Tucson Roadrunners that begins Friday night at the Tucson Convention Center. The Reign and Roadrunners have only met once this season, with Ontario claiming a 4-1 victory Nov. 13 at Toyota Arena.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: While Ontario suffered a loss in their most recent contest on Wednesday against Colorado, they still remain tied for second place in the Pacific Division standings alongside Coachella Valley with 50 points apiece. Tucson, on the other hand, is on the outside looking in at the division’s playoff picture after six consecutive losses and holds eighth place with 40 points, two back of Bakersfield for the seventh and final postseason spot. Anytime the Reign have scored first this year, they’ve had the upper hand, posting a 12-2-0-1 mark in the 15 games where they’ve taken an initial lead. Tucson is 13-5-1 from the 19 games this season where they’ve netted the opening goal. Ontario ranks eighth in the league on the offensive end with 134 tallies in 40 outings for an average of 3.35 per game, while ranking 11th on the defensive side of the puck by allowing 2.90 goals per contest. The Reign also average the third-most shots on goal per contest in the league (32.05), while the Roadrunners are 10-5-0 when they out-shoot their opponent.

LAST TIME OUT: The Colorado Eagles jumped out to a lead by scoring three times during the second period and controlled the rest of the game on Wednesday night at Toyota Arena, defeating the Ontario Reign by a 4-2 score. Jack Studnicka had a goal and an assist for Ontario in a losing effort, while Taylor Ward was on the scoresheet for the fourth time in the past five games with an assist and Martin Chromiak found the back of the net for his seventh strike of the season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Although Ontario came away with a win from their only previous meeting this season, the Reign and Roadrunners were evenly matched last year, with each team winning four of the eight matchups during the regular season. Ontario fared better offensively in the series, outscoring Tucson 30-19. The Reign were also excellent on special teams with a 25.7% power play conversion rate (9-for-35) and a 90% effectiveness on the penalty kill (19-for-21). Charles Hudon totaled 11 points against the Roadrunners last year on two goals and nine assists, while Akil Thomas led Ontario with six goals in the series.

WATCH OUT FOR WARD: Reign forward Taylor Ward has helped moved the needle on the offensive end in the last two weeks for the Reign, posting five points from his last five games while helping the club to wins in three of their last four contests. Ward scored a goal and an assist on Jan. 19 in an overtime loss to Calgary before finding the back of the net two days later in a 6-1 win over the Wranglers. Last weekend, he netted his third goal from the last four outings and sixth tally of the year Saturday night during a 3-0 victory over Coachella Valley. He then had the primary assist on Jack Studnicka’s goal 26 seconds into Wednesday’s game vs. Colorado. The Kelowna, B.C. native has 15 points overall this season along with a plus-9 rating while playing in 36 contests. He is six games away from his 200th career professional contest, all of which have come with Ontario, the seventh-most in the team’s AHL history.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS: Tucson finished in second place in the Pacific Division standings last season but bowed out in the opening round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, dropping a best-of-3 series to the Calgary Wranglers. Head Coach Steve Potvin is back behind the bench for a third season and his eighth year overall as a coach with the Roadrunners. Forward Kailer Yamamoto leads the team in scoring with 32 points in 31 games this season on 13 goals and 19 assists. Veteran forward Andrew Agozzino has also made a big impact with 25 points on 10 goals and 15 assists, while Cameron Hebig has a team-high 14 goals along with 14 assists for 28 points in 34 games and will represent the Pacific Division at the upcoming AHL All-Star Classic this week. Defenders Robbie Russo and Artem Duda lead the blueliners with 16 points apiece. In net, Jaxson Stauber has split time with incumbent Matt Villalta, with Stauber holding a 6-5-0 record from 11 appearances while also seeing four games of NHL action with Utah. Villalta is 10-13-2 from 25 contests with a 2.98 goals-against average and a 0.903 save percentage.

MILLAR MAKES IT HAPPEN: Rookie defenseman Jack Millar has been a bright spot for the team on the blueline this season, appearing in 35 of the club’s 40 games and recording a team-high plus-18 rating. That number is fourth among all AHL skaters and the right-shot defender has played in less games than anyone above him on the list. Millar has been in Ontario’s lineup in each of the team’s last 29 games dating back to Nov. 15 after starting the campaign by appearing in just six of the first 11 contests. Prior to Wednesday night against the team from his home state, the native of Westminster, Colorado had earned assists in three straight games, all wins for Ontario, while totaling a combined rating of plus-5 in the victories. Millar signed with Ontario after finishing his collegiate career at Colorado College where he appeared in 134 games over four seasons and made his AHL debut on Apr. 21 of last season in his home state against the Eagles in Loveland.

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST: The third period has been Ontario’s best frame this season. The Reign have outscored opponents a combined 50-28 in the final period this year, netting more goals from the final frame than their totals from the first (37) and the second (42). They’ve backed up that year-long success in their latest five outings against four Pacific Division opponents. First, they erased a 4-3 deficit with the lone goal of the frame last Sunday against Calgary to force overtime while holding a 13-4 shot-on-goal advantage, then held the Wranglers quiet two nights later with just five shots allowed. Last Friday, Ontario out-shot Bakersfield 12-8 in the third and Tyler Madden scored the only goal to force overtime in an eventual shootout win and Saturday’s shutout victory over the Firebirds featured just seven shots on goal for the visitors. Even in a losing effort Wednesday, the Reign scored the only goal of the third period against Colorado.

Reign Check Gameday Forecast

2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. Tucson:
Wed., Nov. 13 vs. Tucson, 4-1 W – Full Recap
Fri., Jan. 31 at Tucson, 6 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 1 at Tucson 6 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 12 vs. Tucson, 7 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 5 vs. Tucson, 7 p.m.
Tue., Mar. 11 at Tucson, 6:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 12 at Tucson, 6:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 26 vs. Tucson, 7 p.m.