REIGN PREVIEW 4/2 – Ontario at San Jose

WHO: Ontario Reign (38-22-3-1) at San Jose Barracuda (32-23-5-4)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #65
WHEN: Wednesday, April 2 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Tech CU Arena – San Jose, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign and San Jose Barracuda clash for the second time at Tech CU Arena this season and meet for the sixth time overall during 2024-25 when the clubs kick off their April schedule on Wednesday night in the bay.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: A win of any kind from the matchup in San Jose is all Ontario needs to secure their spot in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Reign can also clinch on Wednesday if Tucson loses to Calgary in regulation or if Ontario earns a single point via an overtime or shootout loss and the Roadrunners also lose in extra time to the Wranglers. Before they set out on this current five-game run away from Ontario, the Reign managed to earn back-to-back home wins over Colorado last weekend, sweeping the Eagles to move within four points of first place in the Pacific Division. The Barracuda are currently sitting in fifth place in the Pacific with 73 points, four behind Coachella Valley and the final home ice spot for the opening round of the postseason and two ahead of Calgary. Ontario has fared well in close games this season, earning a record of 16-3-3-1 in one-goal outcomes, while San Jose is one of the top offenses in the AHL, ranking third with an average of 3.47 goals per game and first in the league with 32.44 shots on net per contest.

LAST TIME OUT: Goals by Glenn Gawdin and Andre Lee in the final minute sent the Ontario Reign past the Colorado Eagles in come-from-behind fashion by a 5-4 score on Sunday afternoon at Toyota Arena. Gawdin scored twice in the contest, while Lee and Samuel Fagemo each netted a goal and an assist and Charles Hudon posted three helpers. The win moved Ontario within four points of Colorado at the top of the Pacific Division standings and trimmed its magic number to clinch a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs to two points.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Reign hold a 3-2-0 record from their five previous meetings with San Jose this season, a series that began with a split in Ontario on the league’s opening weekend, Oct. 12 and 13. The Reign then defeated the Barracuda 5-4 in a shootout on Dec. 15 before splitting another pair of games with a 6-4 win at Tech CU Arena on Feb. 19 before dropping a 3-1 decision at Toyota Arena on Feb. 22. While Ontario wasn’t able to score on the power play in the first three games of the series, they broke out for three man-advantage tallies in the December road win. San Jose on the other hand, has converted on seven of its 19 man-advantage chances, giving them the best power play success of any team against the Reign this season. Charles Hudon leads Ontario with six points in the series on a goal and five assists. Martin Chromiak and Aatu Jamsen have also been effective on the offensive end with three goals and four points each. Andrew Poturalski (1-5=6) has the same offensive scoring numbers as Hudon to lead the Barracuda with six points in the series, while Ethan Cardwell (2-3=5) and Filip Bystedt (1-4=5) have both totaled five points. Ontario was at its best against the Barracuda last season, producing an unblemished 8-0-0 record to secure the 16 standings points available to them.

GIVE IT TO GLENN: Forward Glenn Gawdin came up big for the Reign last weekend, scoring three times during the two home wins over Colorado. The Richmond, B.C. native was also on the scoresheet during all four games of Ontario’s Central Division road trip in late March and is currently on a run where he’s posted 13 points from his last 11 games on nine goals and four assists. Gawdin has set new career-highs in goals (24) and points (56) while appearing in all of the Reign’s 64 games thus far this year. The seventh-year forward also leads the team with a plus-20 rating this season and is now just 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.

SCOUTING THE BARRACUDA: San Jose had an impressive start to the season as they aim for their first Calder Cup Playoffs appearance since the 2018-19 campaign, but the Barracuda have dropped their last three games and are just 4-3-2-1 from their last 10 matchups. Veteran forward Andrew Poturalski continues to lead the way on his team and in the AHL with 73 points in 59 games on 30 goals and 43 assists. Ethan Cardwell has also been a threat on the offensive end with 47 points from 56 games on 11 goals and 36 assists. Rookie defender Luca Cagnoni has paced the team’s blueliners on the offensive end with 47 points on 13 goals and 34 assists but was recently recalled by the Sharks to make his NHL debut. No. 1 goaltender Yaroslav Askarov has seen action in 19 contests and has a 10-7-1 record but has not seen the crease since he suffered an injury against the Reign six weeks ago. Gabriel Carriere has emerged as a go-to replacement in his absence, appearing in 18 games since he was recalled from Wichita.

SERIOUS ABOUT STUDNICKA: With two assists in Ontario’s win over Colorado on Sunday, helping on Samuel Fagemo’s opening goal of the game and Andre Lee’s winner in the final minute, forward Jack Studnicka reached the 40-point mark for the season. Studnicka’s 16 goals and 24 assists are the most points he’s put up since his rookie professional year when he reached 49 as a member of the Providence Bruins during 2019-20. The Windsor, Ontario native is just two assists shy of his career high when he reached 26 that season, while his 60 penalty minutes on the year are already the most he’s had in a single campaign. Recently Studnicka has teamed up with Fagmeo and Lee as a formidable trio for Ontario and has five points in his last four appearances with a goal and four assists. In parts of six AHL seasons, Studnicka has 157 points while playing in 217 contests on 57 goals and 100 assists.

SALIN JOINS REIGN ROSTER: Defenseman Otto Salin, who recently signed a three-year entry-level contract with the LA Kings on Monday that begins with the 2025-26 season, has joined the Ontario Reign roster on a professional tryout. This season, the Helsinki, Finland native played in 56 games for TPS Turku of Liiga, Finland’s top professional hockey league, where he set career-highs in games played, goals (8), assists (20) and points (28) with 14 penalty minutes (PIM) and two game-winning goals. The right-shot defender’s 28 points were the seventh-most on the TPS Turku roster and second among team blueliners. He also added a pair of goals and assists (2-2=4) in five postseason contests. Selected by the Kings in the fifth round (148th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, Salin has played parts of four seasons (2021-25) in Liiga split between TPS Turku and HIFK, accumulating 13 goals and 49 points (13-36=49) in 133 career regular-season games.

Reign Check Gameday Forecast

2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. San Jose (all times Pacific):
Sat., Oct. 12 vs. San Jose, 0-5 L – Full Recap
Sun., Oct. 13 vs. San Jose, 4-3 W – Full Recap
Sun., Dec. 15 vs. San Jose, 5-4 SOW – Full Recap
Wed., Feb. 19 at San Jose, 6-4 W – Full Recap
Sat., Feb. 22 vs. San Jose, 1-3 L – Full Recap
Wed., Apr. 2 at San Jose, 7 p.m.
Fri., Apr. 11 at San Jose, 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Apr. 12 at San Jose, 6 p.m.