REIGN PREVIEW 3/30 – Ontario vs. Colorado

WHO: Ontario Reign (37-22-3-1) vs. Colorado Eagles (38-17-5-3)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #64
WHEN: Sunday, March 30 @ 3:00 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: The Ontario Reign and Colorado Eagles meet for the second straight day on Sunday afternoon at Toyota Arena, the final contest on the schedule for both teams during March.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: After the Reign emerged with a win over the Eagles on Saturday night, Ontario can move within four points of first place in the Pacific Division if they can earn another regulation victory on Sunday. On the contrary, Colorado is aiming to exact revenge and push their cushion to eight points with a defeat of Ontario today. The Eagles entered the series riding a four-game win streak and have won eight of their last 10, giving them control of the top spot in both the conference and the division. Sunday’s matchup is the seventh of eight between the two clubs on the 2024-25 regular season schedule, with the final contest set to be played in Ontario on April 16. The Eagles are the lone team in the Pacific to have locked up a spot in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs, while Ontario holds a magic number of four and can punch its ticket as early as Tuesday. Colorado is the top team in the league on the defensive end, allowing just 2.48 goals per game. They also rank second on offense with an average of 3.52 goals per night. The Reign continue to average the second-most shots on goal in the league (31.84) while allowing the second-lowest total per game (26.05).

LAST TIME OUT: The Ontario Reign limited the Colorado Eagles to just 18 shots and held on for a 2-1 victory with two successful penalty kills in the final minutes at Toyota Arena on Saturday night. Pheonix Copley stopped 17 shots in between the pipes to earn his 21st win of the season, while Samuel Fagemo and Glenn Gawdin provided the offense for Ontario who remains in second place in the Pacific Division standings.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Colorado has picked up victories in four of the six battles between the two division foes this season, seizing control of the series with four straight wins after losing the first bout to Ontario. Last month the Eagles dominated on back-to-back nights in Loveland, winning each night by a 4-0 score on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1. The month prior, Colorado earned a win in Ontario on Jan. 29 by a 4-2 score. The clubs also split a series on consecutive days in Loveland for their first two meetings of the year on Nov. 15-16 with Ontario securing a 5-3 win night one before falling 6-4 the next evening. Glenn Gawdin leads the Reign with four points in the series on three goals and an assist, while Samuel Fagemo and Reilly Walsh have each netted two goals and an assist and Jack Studnicka has one strike and two helpers. Forward Jake Wise leads the Eagles against the Reign with six points, including five of his 15 goals on the year. Tye Felhaber is second against Ontario with five points on three goals and two helpers. The Reign are just 2-for-14 on the power play in the series (14.2%) while Colorado has a 4-for-20 mark on the man advantage (20%). Ontario won just three of eight against the Eagles a year ago.

PHEONIX TAKES FLIGHT: Reign netminder Pheonix Copley has remained steady in between the pipes despite a heavy workload over the past month, starting in 15 of Ontario’s last 17 games dating back to Feb. 19. The netminder has allowed just a single goal in three of his last four appearances in the past two weeks. Copley has reached the 20-win mark for the first time in his AHL career, which began with the Hershey Bears 10 years ago during the 2014-15 campaign. The goaltender has earned a goals-against average of 2.43 in 36 appearances to go along with a 0.906 save percentage and two shutouts in over 2,000 minutes of action. If the Reign continue to rely on the backstop in their last nine games, the North Pole, Alaska native is on pace to potentially set AHL career-highs in both minutes games played.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Defenseman Jacob MacDonald has taken over the Eagles’ team scoring lead this season with 51 points in 57 games, four shy of his career-high which was set as a member of the Binghamton Devils in 2017-18. MacDonald has a team-high 28 goals along with 23 assists and his 13 power play goals are tied for the most in the AHL this season. Forward Matthew Phillips is the top scoring forward among the group with 49 points on 18 goals and 31 assists. Captain Jayson Megna is just behind him with 46 points on 15 goals and 31 helpers. TJ Tynan has recently missed time with an injury but has averaged a point per game when in the lineup, scoring 45 points in 45 contests on eight goals and a team-best 37 assists. In goal, Trent Miner has an impressive 2.13 goals-against average from 32 appearances which ranks third in the AHL, while Kevin Mandolese has played in 17 games with a 0.905 save percentage and Adam Scheel has earned a 10-1-2 record from 13 decisions along with a 2.44 GAA.

GIVE IT TO GLENN: Forward Glenn Gawdin was on the scoresheet during all four games of Ontario’s Central Division road trip last week, posting a power play assist in Texas last Tuesday night before adding an empty-net goal the next evening and three tallies during the series in Iowa. The center found the back of the net again on Saturday, scoring the game-winning strike during the second period to tie his career-high with 22 goals, matching his total from last season when he was a member of the San Diego Gulls. Gawdin also had a personal best of 55 points a year ago and is close to equaling that number again with 54 this season in 63 games. The seventh-year forward has points in eight of his last 10 outings, earning seven goals and four assists during the run. Gawdin was a +5 in the four road games last week and now leads the team with a plus-21 rating overall this season. The Richmond, British Columbia native is three assists shy of tying his previous high mark of 35, which he achieved as a member of the Stockton Heat during the 2021-22 campaign.

FAGEMO BREAKS OUT, HITS 40 POINTS: With two goals and an assist to help defeat the Iowa Wild last Sunday, Reign forward Samuel Fagemo posted his first three-point effort since November. Fagemo’s big night helped him hit the 40-point mark on the year for the third time in the last four seasons as a member of Ontario. The Goteborg, Sweden native continued to be a focal point of the Reign’s offense on Saturday night, opening the scoring in the team’s win over Colorado with his team-leading 26th goal of the year. 10 of Fagemo’s goals this year have come on the man advantage, the third consecutive season that he’s produced a double-digit total of goals on the power play. The fifth-year attacker is the all-time leader in goals scoring during the Reign’s history, netting 129 tallies in 259 AHL games with the club. He’s also second in team history in overall points scored (197) and games played.

Reign Check Gameday Forecast

2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. Colorado:
Fri., Nov. 15 at Colorado, 5-3 W – Full Recap
Sat., Nov. 16 at Colorado, 4-6 L – Full Recap
Wed., Jan. 29 vs. Colorado,  2-4 L – Full Recap
Fri., Feb. 28 at Colorado, 0-4 L – Full Recap
Sat., Mar. 1 at Colorado, 0-4 L – Full Recap
Sat., Mar. 29 vs. Colorado, 2-1 W – Full Recap
Sun., Mar. 30 vs. Colorado, 3 p.m.
Wed., Apr. 16 vs. Colorado, 7 p.m.