ONTARIO REIGN POSTGAME REPORT – ABB 2, ONT 5

The Ontario Reign (3-1-1-0) defeated the Abbotsford Canucks (2-3-0-0) Friday night by a final score of 5-2 in front of 6,378 fans at Abbotsford Centre. The Reign and the Canucks will meet on Sunday, Oct. 26th at 3 p.m. PST.

Andre Lee and Taylor Ward each found the back of the net twice while Ward also collected an assist for a three-point game. Glenn Gawdin tallied a goal an assist and hit 300 career AHL points. Lee’s first goal of the contest came 2:36 into the game as Ontario took their first 1-0 lead of the season.

The score read 1-1 after the opening 20 minutes of play as Abbotsford outshot Ontario 10-7. Andre Lee (2^nd) gave the Reign a 1-0 lead 2:36 into the game from Jack Hughes and Samuel Bolduc. From behind the Reign blue-line Bolduc sprung Hughes on a partial breakaway. Hughes was hooked up on the play a little bit and never got a shot but still maintained possession of the puck. From the right corner he fed Lee in the high slot where he sent a shot by Tolopilo. Ontario was assessed a penalty with 61 seconds left in the stanza and it was Ben Berard who tied the game with 13 seconds remaining with a wrist shot from the top of left circle into the top left corner.

Taylor Ward (1^st) was the lone goal scorer in the second period giving the Reign a 2-1 lead at 12:38 from Gleen Gawdin. Gawdin in on the face-off in the right circle and with the puck tied up Ward moved into the dot and collected the puck. He then spun around with it on his forehand and beat Tolopilo with a low shot past his right leg. Shots were nine a piece in the frame.

Ward (2^nd) got his second of the game 4:20 into the third period pushing the lead to 3-1. Martin Chromiak got across the blue line and chipped the puck forward and it bounced off a couple of Abbotsford skaters. Ward located it inside the right face-off dot and fired a shot into the top left corner. Just 3:19 later Lee (2^nd) would also notch his second of the game making it a 4-21lead with a power-play strike from Francesco Pinelli and Ward. From inside the blue line Ward sent a shot towards the net. A rebound was left at the top of the crease where Lee was able to send it home. MacKenzie MacEachern made it 4-2 with 5:46 to play in regulation jamming home a rebound before Glenn Gawdin (1^st) sealed the gaem away with an empty-net strike with 36 seconds left in the game for the 5-2 win.

Pheonix Copley made 24 saves on 26 shots in the win while Nikita Tolopilo suffered the loss making 20 saves on 24 shots. Juri Patera made one save on one shot in 9:37 of relief.

BOX SCORE

Postgame reaction from Andrew Lord