REIGN PREVIEW 4/18 – Ontario vs. San Diego

WHO: Ontario Reign (42-24-3-1) vs. San Diego Gulls (28-34-5-3)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #71
WHEN: Friday, April 18 @ 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: The Ontario Reign and San Diego Gulls close out the 2024-25 edition of the SoCal Series on Friday night at Toyota Arena, the penultimate game of the AHL’s regular season.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: It’ll either be a second or third place finish for the Reign in the Pacific Division, but there’s a chance that won’t be decided until Saturday’s season finale as Ontario’s last game will come against Abbotsford, the team they’re even with. Depending on the results this weekend, the Reign can still face either Calgary, San Jose, Tucson or Bakersfield in the opening round of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs next week. Ontario ranks 12th in the AHL on both the offensive and defensive side of the puck, scoring 3.14 goals per game while allowing 2.87. The Reign also rank in the league’s top five of both shots on goal per night and shots allowed, posting 31.17 per contest (5th) while allowing an average of just 26.3. San Diego is one of the lowest penalized teams in the league, averaging 11 penalty minutes per game, which is fifth-least in the AHL and second in the Pacific Division behind only Coachella Valley (10.49).

LAST TIME OUT: A three-goal outburst in the first period powered the Ontario Reign to a 4-2 win over the Colorado Eagles on Wednesday night at Toyota Arena. Samuel Fagemo scored two of those three in the opening frame, while Martin Chromiak found the back of the net for the second straight contest and Pheonix Copley earned the win in goal with 24 saves.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Ontario has earned points from six of its seven previous contests against San Diego this season, going 3-1-2-1 in the series. The first three meetings took place at Pechanga Arena, where the Reign claimed a 4-1 victory on Nov. 23, a 2-1 win in a shootout on Dec. 7 and suffered a 4-3 shootout loss on Dec. 27. The Reign picked up another winning 4-1 result in the first battle of the year at Toyota Arena on Jan. 3 before falling in overtime 5-4 on Feb. 8 and 3-2 on Mar. 7. The Gulls claimed the most recent matchup on Mar. 8 by a 5-3 score. Francesco Pinelli leads Ontario with nine points in the series on five goals and four assists while appearing in each of the seven games, while Jack Studnicka also has six points on an even three goals and three assists. Jan Myšák is one of San Diego’s leaders in the series with five points on three goals and two assists, while defender Tristan Luneau has earned five helpers and Ryan Capenter has scored a team-high four goals. The Reign have killed 23 of the Gulls’ 25 power play chances in this year’s series (92%).

A NIGHT OF FIRSTS: Ontario has added several new players to its roster over the past few weeks, many of whom contributed to the team’s win over Colorado on Wednesday. Two forwards made their AHL debuts for the Reign, including Jared Wright, who turned pro after his season at Denver University came to an end by signing with the LA Kings, as well as Koehn Ziemmer, who was reassigned to Ontario by LA from Prince George in the Western Hockey League. Wright picked up his first professional point, earning an assist on a goal by Kaleb Lawrence in the second period. The other assist on the goal went to defender Otto Salin, his first AHL point, which came in his first game at Toyota Arena.

SCOUTING THE GULLS: San Diego will not qualify for postseason play for the third consecutive season and will finish its 2024-25 campaign this week. The Gulls are led offensively by rookie defender Tristan Luneau, who paces the team’s skaters with 48 points in 57 games on seven goals and 41 assists. Luneau was recently recognized as one of the two defenders on the AHL’s All-Rookie team. Captain Ryan Carpenter is the squad’s leading scorer among forwards, posting 47 points on 10 goals and 28 assists. Forwards Sam Colangelo (19-16=35) and Nikita Nesterenko (13-21=34), who recently saw lengthy stints in the NHL with Anaheim, were returned on loan Thursday for the club’s final games. In goal, Oscar Dansk and Calle Clang have played 36 and 30 games respectively, combining to earn 21 of San Diego’s 28 wins.

CHROMIAK STAYS HOT: Forward Martin Chromiak has come on as of late after being promoted to play alongside veterans Glenn Gawdin and Charles Hudon, posting 14 points from his last 14 games on seven goals and seven helpers since Mar. 16. The scoring run has seen him surpass all of his previous AHL career-highs, and the Ilava, Slovakia native has 38 points on the year with 18 goals and 20 assists. Five of Chromiak’s tallies have come on the power play, while two of his last three have been game-winners. The former fifth-round selection by the LA Kings in 2020 had a goal and an assist in Ontario’s win over San Jose on Saturday, scoring in the opening minute of the game before assisting on Taylor Ward’s third period power play goal. He followed that up with an early strike on Wednesday, giving the Reign an early lead over Colorado, which they never relinquished.

WARD SCORES IN NHL DEBUT: Reign forward Taylor Ward was recalled by the LA Kings on Thursday and made his debut that night against the Calgary Flames. Ward netted the lone Kings goal in a losing effort, scoring on the power play in the third period for his first NHL goal. He was on the ice with four former Ontario teammates for the goal, including Alex Turcotte, Jeff Malott, Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence, with the two blueliners recording assists on the strike. Ward, 27, is in his third full professional season and has set a new career-high with 12 goals for Ontario, along with 14 assists for 26 points in 65 games. The Kelowna, B.C. native signed with the Kings as a free agent in 2022 after completing his collegiate career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC). Ward has accumulated 94 points (35-59=94) in 223 career AHL outings with the Reign, the fourth-most games played in franchise history.

Reign Check Gameday Forecast


2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. San Diego:
Sat., Nov. 23 at San Diego, 4-1 W – Full Recap
Sat., Dec. 7 at San Diego, 2-1 W – Full Recap
Fri., Dec. 27 at San Diego, 3-4 SOL – Full Recap
Fri., Jan. 3 vs. San Diego, 4-1 W – Full Recap
Sat., Feb. 8 vs. San Diego, 4-5 OT – Full Recap
Fri., Mar. 7 vs. San Diego, 2-3 OT – Full Recap
Sat., Mar. 8 at San Diego, 3-5 L – Full Recap
Fri., Apr. 18 vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.