REIGN PREVIEW 12/7 – Ontario vs. Calgary

REIGN PREVIEW 12/7 – Ontario vs. Calgary
WHO: Ontario Reign (12-7-1-0) vs. Calgary Wranglers (11-9-2-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #20/72
WHEN: Sunday, December 7 @ 3:00 Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA   

HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign

 TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign and Calgary Wranglers wrap up their four-game head-to-head season series this afternoon after Ontario picked up a 6-1 win less than 24 hours ago. It will be the fourth game of a five-game homestand for the Reign and the conclusion of 10 straight road games for the Wranglers.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Reign are now 7-1-0 when following a loss this season with their victory last night after they fell exactly one week ago to Texas by a final score of 4-1. Calgary grabbed the game’s first goal 5:36 into the game but from there on out it was all Ontario. Kirill Kirsanov finished the night with a pair of goals, tying the score with his first AHL tally 54 seconds after Calgary took the lead. Samuel Bolduc finished the evening with three assists with his first being his 100^th career AHL point. Nikita Alexandrov scored in his Reign debut while Cole Guttman stretched his point streak to four-games. The win marked the second 6-1 win of the season for Ontario tying a season high in goals for a game. Five players found the back of the net, 11 tallied a point, and five finished with multi-point nights.

LEE STAYS HOT: Forward Andre Lee scored his team leading fifth power-play goal of the season last night at 9:32 of the first period which ended up being the eventual game winner while notching an assist for his team leading fourth multi-point contest of the season. The Kings seventh round pick back in 2019 is tied for fourth in the AHL in man advantage markers as he has four in his last six games. Heading into the season Lee had just two power-play goals in 153 career AHL games. In his last 10 games the Karlstad, Sweden native has nine points (4-5-9). The Reign are 9-2-1 when Lee records at least one point in a game this season.

COPLEY SETTLING IN: Veteran goaltender Pheonix Copley made his third straight start last evening and his fifth in Ontario’s last six games. He has won three of his last four starts making 90 saves on 99 shots after he had just one win in his previous six appearances allowing 24 goals on 174 shots. Erik Portillo is still unavailable to go having missed six straight games with an injury. Isaiah Saville last appeared on Nov. 22 making 13 saves on 15 shots in a 3-2 win at Bakersfield.

KIRILL THE THRILL: Rookie defenseman Kirill Kirsanov has had a calm steady presence on the blue line for Ontario this season and was rewarded with his first career AHL goal last night as he finished the night with a pair and a plus-three rating. After spending parts of the last five seasons in the KHL, the Kings third round selection in 2021, is just one of two Reign defenders to have appeared in all 20 games this season where he has posted four points (2-2-4) with a plus-five rating and two penalty minutes.  

 SCOUTING THE WRANGLERS: The Wranglers 10-game road trip ends this afternoon as they will play their next six games back in Calgary. Goals have been hard to come by for Calgary as of recent as they’re just 1-2-0-1 in their last four games having been outscored 13-5. Owen Say has started three of the last five games and was yanked after allowing five goals on 17 shots in 40 minutes last evening. Connor Murphy made six saves on seven shots in the third period last night after he was re-called from the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush on Wednesday. Murphy had played 19 games with the Wranglers over the last two seasons.