REIGN GAME 2 FINAL – Reign 1, Barracuda 2 – Hicketts, Copley, Sturm

A goal by Collin Graf with 2:18 to play in the third period was the difference for the San Jose Barracuda (2-0) on Saturday night, who defeated the Ontario Reign (0-2) by a score of 2-1 and earned a 2-0 series win to advance to the Pacific Division Semifinals.

The Reign’s lone goal of the series came at 6:12 of the third and tied the game up at 1-1, a strike off a one-timer by Martin Chromiak. Pheonix Copley did everything he could to keep his team in the game for the second consecutive postseason contest, stopping 23 shots for Ontario in a losing effort.

BOX SCORE

With the loss, Ontario’s season comes to a sudden end, after they finished in third place in the Pacific Division standings for the second straight season, ending the year with 90 points and a 43-25-3-1 overall record.

Just like in Game 1, the two clubs were scoreless in the opening frame, which consisted of 13 shots for San Jose and eight attempts on goal by Ontario. The Reign’s penalty kill was 2-for-2 in the first 20 minutes.

But the Barracuda took the lead at 7:40 of the second when Anthony Vincent scored to make it 1-0. San Jose held their advantage into the second intermission, despite Ontario holding a  10-7 shot edge in the middle frame.

Chromiak evened the game in the early stages of the third with his one-timer off a feed by center Glenn Gawdin and gave the Reign life for the first time. The second assist on the play went to Caleb Jones, who started the rush by moving the puck out of his own zone.

Ontario was unable to get anything else by goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, however, and Graf’s deciding strike came off a backhand shot to put San Jose in front for good at 17:42.

Askarov finished with 29 saves in Game 2 and had a combined total of 46 stops in the series on 47 shots. Neither team converted on the man-advantage in the contest, with the Barracuda ending at 0-for-3 and Ontario going 0-for-4. By out-shooting San Jose 12-5 in the third, the final shot differential favored the Reign, 30-25.

Postgame reactions from captain Joe Hicketts, Copley and head coach Marco Sturm are below –

Joe Hicketts
On the season being over so quickly
Yeah it came really quick. Again, best of three. Game one so important, and we battled but I don’t think we put forth our best product and put ourselves in a tough spot tonight. Give everyone credit. We battled, to go down one, we could’ve easily sagged and thought we weren’t getting one but we’re able to tie it up. I don’t know if it’s a bounce but we pushed to the end. I’ll give this group a lot of credit. All year we were able to battle and fight back. At the end of the day, it’s a bad feeling but proud of where we came from.

On Pheonix Copley’s play
He’s been unbelievable on the ice obviously, but off the ice he’s brought in another dynamic to our leadership group. He’s been able to convey a message of what he sees from a different perspective back there. What he’s been able to bring you know, can never be thankful enough for what he’s brought to this leadership group.

On his message to the fans
Thank you for your support. It means a lot seeing that building full. Sorry, we couldn’t drag it back there for Monday night. There’s a lot of faithful fans that we see at whether it’s autograph signings, the Reign Day, the gala, the beginning of the year Break the Ice, you see the same people year over year and again. Just can’t thank them enough for what they mean to this team.

 

Pheonix Copley

 

Marco Sturm
On falling short tonight
It’s hard. It’s always the worst time of the year when the season is over. Unfortunately, we fell short here for the last couple games. Giving my guys a lot of credit. It was so much fun, like every year, for me to come to work every day because of the players we’ve got in the room. They care, they work, and they are fun to be around. That’s part of it too. That’s why it hurts even more. Because of the special group we have every year here. And that’s hockey too, right? We got to learn from some of the experience we had here at Crypto. We got to learn from some mistakes we made, we got to move on and try to get better in the summer.

On this year’s team overall
These guys played so well for 72 games. Exactly the way we wanted. Finished strong. You couldn’t ask for anything more. We lost a lot of guys too but it didn’t matter who was in, who was out, who was with the Kings, who wasn’t. Guys kept going. And that’s why it was a good group.

On the leadership group
I remember my first day with the Reign this season and we had twelve new faces. Twelve new guys. That’s something we’ve never been through, even us as coaches. So we needed those leaders to be leaders, even if they were new guys. Guys like Gawdin or Studnicka, you know they’re more quiet too. So, I think it took them a little bit but sooner or later, they got out of their comfort zone. They recognized how important they are in the team. They were great. I think leadership has never been an issue here in this organization. We need them, the young guys need them. I’m a big believer in having the right leaders on your team and we had them again this year.