REIGN PREVIEW 1/9 – Ontario vs. Henderson 

REIGN PREVIEW 1/9 – Ontario vs. Henderson
WHO: Ontario Reign (21-10-1-1, 44pts) vs. Henderson Silver Knights (16-11-3-1, 36pts)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #34/72
WHEN: Friday, January 9 @ 7:00 Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Ontario Reign (21-10-1-1, 44pts) and Henderson Silver Knights (16-11-3-1, 36pts) square off in the fifth of eight total meetings this season, the third of four in Ontario at Toyota Arena.

Ontario picked up their third straight win on Wednesday night defeating Iowa by a final score of 4-3 in game four of a five-game homestand. Glenn Gawdin stretched his point streak to 12-games as him and Nikita Alexandrov finished the night with two assists. Cole Guttman scored a power-play goal as the Reign have now recorded a power-play tally in four straight games. Kenny Connors opened the scoring 77 seconds into the contest, the quickest goal to start a game this season, while Jared Wright scored and added an assist. Pheonix Copley made 24 saves in the win.

Henderson has won back-to-back games coming off a 5-1 win in Coachella Valley on Wednesday in their first of five straight on the road. Tanner Laczysnki finished with five points (2G, 3A) while Ben Hemmerling and Jonas Røndbjerg each scored and tallied an assist. Mitch McLain skated in his 400^th career AHL contest while Sloan Stanick scored his first AHL goal. Defenders Jeremy Davies and Dylan Coughlan each chipped in with two assists while Carl Lindbom made 38 saves in the victory.

QUICK HITS ONTARIO

The Reign have now collected a point in seven of their last nine games, 6-1-0-1, and are 12-5-0-1 since Nov. 21. They’ve won three straight on home ice and are 12-4-1-1 at Toyota Arena this season.

Ontario is 11-3-1-1 in one-goal games having won eight of their last 10.

The Reign have now scored three or more goals in eight straight contests while allowing their opponent to two or fewer goals in four of the last six.

Ontario has a season long four-game power-play goal streak, and they are 19-for-21 on the penalty kill in their last six games.

QUCIK HITS HENDERSON

The Silver Knights have a point in eight of their last night games dating back to Dec. 13 posting a 5-1-2-1 record.

Henderson has scored first in four of their last five games.

The Silver Knights are 5-1-3-1 in one-goal games this season having played six of their last nine determined by one-score with a 3-0-2-1 record.

Henderson has a power-play goal in two straight games and three of their last five games.

GETTING THE CALL UP
Cole Guttman was recalled by the LA Kings yesterday joining Andre Lee and Taylor Ward who were recalled on Wednesday. Lee played eight minutes and registered one shot in the Kings 4-3 overtime loss vs. San Jose Wednesday night while Ward logged a shot with 10:20 of time on ice.

Guttman has tallied 23 points (9G, 14A) in 31 games with Ontario this season. After starting the campaign with just three points (1G, 2A) in his first 11 games he has notched 20 points (8G, 12A) in his last 21 contests. The Northridge, CA native signed a two-year contract with LA on Jul. 1, 2025 after spending the last three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks organization. He skated in 41 NHL games registering 14 points (8G, 6A) while producing 127 points (55G, 72A) in 148 games with Rockford.

HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES
The Reign are 2-2-0-0 vs. the Silver Knights this season including a 1-1 mark at Toyota Arena. Ontario has won the last two meetings most recently picking up a 3-2 shootout win on Dec. 30 in Henderson where they trailed 1-0 going into the third period. Taylor Ward tied the score with 6:23 left in regulation but the Silver Knight recaptured the lead 84 seconds later before Andre Lee scored an extra attacker goal with 25 seconds left to force extra hockey. Isaiah Saville stopped all three shooters in the shootout and made 26 saves in the win while Cole Guttman scored the shootout winner Lee and Ward have each scored two goals in the series while Lee (2G, 1A) and Guttman (1G, 2A) have paced the way for the Reign. Tanner Laczynski leads the way for the Silver Knights with five points (3G, 2A). Ontario is 2-for-11 on the power-play while Henderson is 2-for-13. Both of Ontario’s goals on the man advantage came in a 4-3 win at Toyota Arena on Nov. 28. Carl Lindbom has been outstanding for the Silver Knights in the crease with a 1-0-0-1 record and a .96 goals against average and .959 save percentage while Pheonix Copley and Isaiah Saville each have a win for the Reign.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
For Ontario, Glenn Gawdin has a 12-game point streak (3G, 12A) and has 22 points (5G, 17A) in his last 22 games. He is tied for sixth in the AHL with 22 assists and tied for 10th with 28 points. The Reign are 15-6-0-1 when he records a point. Nikita Alexandrov has a point in eight of his last nine games (1G, 10A) and 14 points (4G, 10A) in 14 games with Ontario. He has three, two assist games in his last five contests. Martin Chromiak has a goal in back-to-back games for the second time this season and has six goals in his last nine games.

For Henderson, Tanner Laczynski is tied for fourth in the AHL with 34 points while his 13 points are tied for ninth and his 21 assists are tied for seventh. He has back-to-back games with two goals and a seven-game point streak (5G, 9A) with three multi-point games during the streak. Jonas Røndbjerg was named to Denmark’s Olympic roster earlier this week and has a three-game point streak (2G, 3A) and eight points (5G, 3A) in his last seven games. Ben Hemmerling has a five-game point streak (4G, 3A) and leads all AHL rookies with a +19 rating. Jeremy Davies has a four-game point streak (1G, 5A).

BETWEEN TWO PIPES
For the Reign, Pheonix Copley made 24 saves on Wednesday for his second straight victory and has now won seven of his last nine starts after winning just two of his first five to start the year. Copley made his first NHL start in over two years back on Dec. 23 making 28 saves on 31 shots in a 3-2 loss vs. Seattle. Erik Portillo returned to the lineup on Sunday for the first time since Nov. 12 after being sidelined with an injury and pitched a 19 save performance for his third career AHL shutout, his first since Jan. 5, 2024. He has now won five straight decisions after the shutout victory on Sunday and improved to 6-1-1 on the season. Isaiah Saville improved to 6-1-1 on the season making 26 saves on Dec. 30 as he has two shutouts in his last four starts.

For the Silver Knights, Carl Linbdom is fourth in the AHL with a 2.08 goals against average and .926 save percentage. He made a season high 38 saves on Wednesday and has started four of the last five games with a 2-1-1 record. Jesper Vikmanmade 30 saves in a 4-3 win vs. Colorado on Sunday in his last appearance and has won two of his last three starts dating back to Dec. 13.

REIGN REMARKABLES
#8 Martin Chromiak has six goals in his last nine games and 20 points (11G, 9A) in his last 21 games.
#21 Glenn Gawdin has 22 points (5G, 17A) in his last 22 games.
#59 Nikita Alexandrov has 11 points (1G, 10A) in his last nine games… three multi-point games in his last five games and 14 points (4G, 10A) in 14 games with Ontario.
#78 Jared Wright has five points (2G, 3A) in his last seven games.

AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS
#8 Martin Chromiak is tied for 7th with five power-play goals and tied for 8th with 14 goals.
#17 Kenny Connors is tied 4th among rookies at +15 which is tied for 6th among all skaters.
#21 Glenn Gawdin is tied for 6th with 22 assists and tied for 10th with 28 points.
#49 Isaiah Saville is tied for 3rd among goaltenders with two shutouts.
#59 Nikita Alexandrov is tied for 7th with 21 assists and tied for 10th with 28 points.
#78 Jared Wright is 3rd among rookies at +16 which is tied for 5th among all skaters.