REIGN PREVIEW 2/17 – Ontario at Calgary

WHO: Ontario Reign (28-14-2-1) at Calgary Wranglers (29-15-3-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #46
WHEN: Monday, February 17 @ 1:30 PM Pacific
WHERE: Scotiabank Saddledome – Calgary, AB
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign are set to face off against the Calgary Wranglers on Monday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome in the second of two contests north of the border between the two teams this week.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Calgary continues to sit at the top of the Pacific Division standings with 62 points from 48 games, while Ontario remains in third with 59 points. The Reign have an opportunity to tighten the gap between them and the top spot on Monday, while second-place Colorado (60 points) is also in action against Abbotsford. Anytime the Reign have scored first this year, which has only happened in 17 of their 45 outings, they’ve had the upper hand, posting a 14-2-0-1 mark from those contests. Calgary is 19-6-3-1 from the 29 games this season where they’ve netted the opening goal, which has included all four of their previous meetings against Ontario. The Reign rank sixth in the league on the offensive end with 153 tallies for an average of 3.40 per game and are 11th on the defensive side of the puck, allowing 2.89 goals per contest. The Reign also average the third-most shots on goal in the league (32.02), while the Wranglers are 11-6-1-1 when they out-shoot their opponent, which they did by a slim 20-19 margin against Ontario on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT: A late goal in the third period by Charles Hudon forced overtime and Francesco Pinelli found the back of the net during the extra session for the Ontario Reign to cap off a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Calgary Wranglers on Saturday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Shawn Element and Jack Studnicka also found the back of the net for Ontario in the victory, while Erik Portillo recorded the win in between the pipes with 17 saves. The Reign moved one point closer to the first-place Wranglers in the Pacific Division standings, remaining three points behind the top spot with three games in hand.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Reign have had the upper hand against Calgary this season, earning wins in three of their four previous matchups. Prior to Saturday’s 4-3 overtime win, Ontario defeated the Wranglers 2-1 on Dec. 18 before avenging a 5-4 overtime loss on Jan. 19 with a lopsided 6-1 victory two nights later on Jan. 21. The first three contests between the two were played in Ontario at Toyota Arena before the series shifted north this week, and Ontario has had the upper hand on special teams, scoring four times on the power play from 14 chances (28.6%). The Reign have four players averaging a point-per-game against Calgary, including linemates Andre Lee, Jack Studnicka and Taylor Ward, who have each scored twice and added a pair of assists, while Tyler Madden has recorded a goal and three helpers against the Wranglers. Dryden Hunt has led Calgary with six points in the four meetings this season with a goal and five assists. A year ago, Ontario secured points from six of their eight meetings with the Wranglers, earning a 5-2-0-1 record in the season series while outscoring Calgary a combined 26-16. Samuel Fagemo led the Reign with nine points from that series on seven goals and two assists.

MALOTT OF OFFENSE: Forward Jeff Malott was unable to extend his three-game goal-scoring streak in Calgary on Saturday, but he had the primary assist on Ontario’s tying goal in the third period by setting up Charles Hudon deep in Wranglers’ territory. The Waterdown, Ontario native has helped the Reign offense with six points in his last four contests on five goals as well as the aforementioned assist. Malott, now in his fifth professional season, ranks third on the team in scoring with 37 points on 15 goals and 22 assists while appearing in all 45 of Ontario’s games. His pair of recent multi-goal performances in the past two weeks are the first he’s recorded as a member of the Reign. Malott had a career-high 52 points in 70 games a year ago while playing for the Manitoba Moose, scoring 22 goals and 30 assists. It was his third consecutive 20-goal season with Manitoba, where he played from 2020-24, totaling 237 AHL games. An undrafted attacker out of Cornell University, Malott made his NHL debut with the Winnipeg Jets in March of 2022.

SCOUTING THE WRANGLERS: Forward Rory Kerins was leading Calgary with 34 points from his first 34 games this season before earning his first NHL call-up from the Flames last month. While he’s recently returned to the Wranglers lineup and continues to lead the club with 22 goals, Calgary has two others atop the team scoring lead in Dryden Hunt and former Reign attacker Martin Frk. Hunt leads the way with 43 points on 12 goals and 31 assists, while Frk is up to 19 goals and 23 helpers. Hunt’s assist total ranks as the second-most in the AHL. Forward William Strömgren has also come on as of late and has 38 points on 12 goals and 26 assists. Defender Jeremie Poirier paces the team’s blueliners with 25 points on three goals and 22 assists. Devin Cooley has led the Wranglers in net this season and earned an appearance for the Pacific Division at the AHL All-Star Game earlier this month. His 18-9-3 record from 31 appearances has him tied for the highest win total in the league and his 0.924 save percentage ranks fifth-best. Rookie Waltteri Ignatjew has also seen action between the pipes in 16 contests for Calgary.

CAN’T STOP COP(LEY): Reign goaltender Pheonix Copley is on his best run of the 2024-25 season, allowing one or fewer goals in five consecutive starts dating back to the middle of January. Copley has earned wins from his last four appearances, including a victory over Calgary in Ontario on Jan. 21, a 27-save shutout of Coachella Valley Jan. 25 and back-to-back 21-save wins over Tucson on Jan. 31 and Feb. 12. The North Pole, Alaska native’s hot stretch has lowered his season-long goals-against average to 2.38, while raising his save percentage to 0.908. Copley’s goals-against ranks ninth-best in the league among active qualifying netminders. In 258 career AHL games since 2014-15, Copley has a 2.51 goals-against and a 0.911 save percentage while posting 138 wins and 17 shutout performances.

A FIRST FOR FRANKIE: Forward Francesco Pinelli netted the first-career overtime-winning goal of his AHL career for Ontario on Saturday afternoon, wristing a low shot underneath goaltender Devin Cooley to give the Reign a 4-3 win at 1:29 of the extra session. Pinelli’s attempt was the lone shot on goal of overtime and gave him his 12th tally of the season, which is one shy of the 13 he recorded as a rookie during the 2023-24 campaign. The Stoney Creek, Ontario native is the sixth skater on the Reign roster to reach a double-digit goal total this year, joining Samuel Fagemo, Charles Hudon, Jeff Malott, Glenn Gawdin and Jack Studnicka. Pinelli also has nine assists and 21 total points in 44 appearances, surpassing his 20-point total from 67 outings last season. The former second-round selection of the LA Kings in 2021 now has three game-winning goals in his AHL career.

Reign Check Gameday Forecast

2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. Calgary (all times Pacific):
Wed., Dec. 18 vs. Calgary, 2-1 W – Full Recap
Sun., Jan. 19 vs. Calgary, 4-5 OTL – Full Recap
Tue., Jan. 21 vs. Calgary, 6-1 W – Full Recap
Sat., Feb. 15 at Calgary, 4-3 OTW – Full Recap
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.