REIGN PREVIEW 4/16 – Ontario vs. Colorado

WHO: Ontario Reign (41-24-3-1) vs. Colorado Eagles (42-19-5-3)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #70
WHEN: Wednesday, April 16 @ 7:00 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: With three games still to play on their regular season schedule, the Ontario Reign host the Colorado Eagles on Wednesday night inside Toyota Arena.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: While the Reign have clinched a home-ice position for the first round of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs, they can still finish anywhere between second and fourth in the Pacific Division standings. Ontario enters tonight’s battle against Colorado in a tie for second place alongside the Abbotsford Canucks with 86 points apiece. The Eagles hold the No. 1 position in the division and can lock down the top seed for the postseason by securing one more point from their remaining three games. Colorado won four of the first five matchups against Ontario this season before the Reign pulled off a sweep at Toyota Arena to close out March with wins by 2-1 and 5-4 scores on consecutive evenings. The Eagles are the top team in the league on the offensive end, scoring 3.49 goals per game. They also rank third on defense, allowing just 2.49 goals per night.

LAST TIME OUT: Playing in his professional debut Saturday night, goaltender Carter George stopped all 33 shots that came his way to lead the Ontario Reign to a 4-0 victory over the San Jose Barracuda at Tech CU Arena. Reilly Walsh also made a major contribution to the win, scoring a season-high three points with two goals and an assist, while Martin Chromiak tallied a goal and an assist. The victory clinched Ontario a home ice position for the first round of the upcoming 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Colorado has won four of the seven battles between the two division foes this season. The Eagles seized control of the series with four straight wins after losing the first bout to Ontario, but the Reign have a chance to get even tonight after a pair of wins at Toyota Arena on March 29 and 30. Glenn Gawdin and Charles Hudon lead the Reign in the series with six points apiece. Gawdin has five goals and one assist, while all six of Hudon’s points have come on helpers. Samuel Fagemo (three goals, two assists) and Jack Studnicka (one goal, four assists) have also pitched in with five points each. Defender Jack Ahcan and forward Matthew Phillips lead Colorado against Ontario with seven points apiece. Ahcan has two goals and five assists, while Phillips has netted one goal and assisted on six others. Forward Jake Wise has six points on a team-high five goals and one assist. The Reign are 3-for-18 on the power play in the series (16.7%) while Colorado has a 4-for-22 mark on the man advantage (18.2%). Ontario won just three of eight against the Eagles a year ago.

KING GEORGE BEGINS HIS REIGN: Goaltender Carter George began his professional career the best possible way on Saturday night by stopping all 33 shots that came his way to record a shutout in a win over San Jose. George, the second-round selection by the LA Kings in the NHL Draft last June, led his junior team, the Owen Sound Attack, to a playoff berth in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) playoffs before they fell in the opening round of the postseason. He was then reassigned by the Kings to Ontario after playing almost 3,000 minutes between regular season and playoffs combined. George appeared in 47 regular season contests and earned a .909 save percentage despite a record of 17-22-6. Another highlight of his year was representing Team Canada at the 2025 World Junior Championship, where he went 2-2-0 in four appearances and led all netminders with a 1.76 goals-against average and a .936 SV%.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Forward Matthew Phillips leads the Eagles in team scoring this season with 55 points in 63 games on 18 goals and 37 assists along with a +24 rating. Just behind him is defenseman Jacob MacDonald, who is the top defensive scorer in the AHL with 53 points on 29 goals and 24 assists. MacDonald has scored 12 more goals than any other blueliner and is tied for the most power play goals in the league with 13. Captain Jayson Megna has also hit the 50-point mark for the season with 18 goals and 32 helpers. Former Reign captain TJ Tynan missed time with an injury over the last month but has since returned and now has 48 points from 50 games on eight goals and a team-best 40 assists. In goal, Trent Miner has an impressive 2.07 goals-against average from 36 appearances which ranks fourth in the AHL, while Kevin Mandolese has played in 19 games with a 0.903 save percentage and Adam Scheel has earned a 10-2-2 record from 14 decisions along with a 2.62 GAA.

CHROMIAK TAKES CHARGE: Forward Martin Chromiak has come on as of late after being promoted to play alongside veterans Glenn Gawdin and Charles Hudon, posting 13 points from his last 13 games on six goals and seven helpers since Mar. 16. The scoring run has seen him surpass all of his previous AHL career-highs, with the Ilava, Slovakia native earning 37 points on the year with 17 goals and 20 assists. Five of Chromiak’s tallies have come on the power play, while both of his last two goals have been game-winners. The former fifth-round selection by the LA Kings in 2020 had a goal and an assist in Ontario’s most recent win over San Jose on Saturday, scoring in the opening minute before assisting on Taylor Ward’s third period power play goal.

WALSH FILLS THE STAT SHEET: Reign defender Reilly Walsh produced a season-high three points in the team’s 4-0 win over San Jose on Saturday, scoring twice in a game for just the second time in his pro career. The blueliner assisted on Martin Chromiak’s opening goal 1:50 into the game, then netted his first of the evening at 2:47 of the first by blasting a shot up high and into the net off a faceoff win in the offensive zone by Kaleb Lawrence. The North Falmouth, Mass. native wasn’t done, as he continued to impact the game by dropping the gloves against Barracuda defender John Gormley for his first career fighting major. Walsh capped off his night with goal No. 2 of the evening at 17:05 of the second, scoring his sixth of the year off a feed by Jack Studnicka. When all was said and done, he had accumulated four shots on net in the contest and a plus-3 rating. In 67 games this season, Walsh leads all Ontario defenders with 32 points.

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, 5-4 W – Full Recap
Wed., Apr. 16 vs. Colorado, 7 p.m.