REIGN PREVIEW 1/13 – Ontario at Colorado

REIGN PREVIEW 1/13 – Ontario at Colorado
WHO: Ontario Reign (22-11-1-1, 46pts) at Colorado Eagles (22-7-1-2, 47pts)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #36/72
WHEN: Tuesday, January 13 @ 6:05 Pacific
WHERE: Blue Arena – Loveland, CO
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign and Colorado Eagles square off in the fourth of eight total meetings this season, the third of four in Loveland at Blue Arena.

Ontario suffered just their second shutout loss of the season on Sunday falling 3-0 in Bakersfield putting an end to their four-game winning streak to kick-off a six-game road stretch. The Condors went 1-for-4 on the power-play taking a 1-0 lead on a man advantage marker with 2:05 left in regulation before adding a pair of empty netters shortly after. Ontario outshot Bakersfield 25-23 after being outshot 10-4 in the first period but finished 0-for-4 on the power-play. Pheonix Copley made 20 saves on 21 shots in the defeat.

Colorado is coming off their fourth shutout win of the season after defeating San Diego 6-0 in Colorado on Saturday. Kyle Keyser made 35 saves for his second shutout of the year while Jayson Megna (2G, 1A) and Danil Gushchin (1G, 2A)finished with three points. Alex Barré-Boulet and Chase Bradley each scored a goal and added an assist while Nikita Prishchepov notched two assists. Tristan Nielsen also found the back of the net for the Eagles and tied for the team lead with four shots.

HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES: The Reign are 2-1-0-0 vs. the Eagles this season including 1-1-0-0 at Blue Arena. Glenn Gawdin has a two-game goal streakwhile he has three goals and an assist in the series including a pair of power-play goals on Dec. 12 in the third period helping Ontario to a 3-2 win. Samuel Bolduc has four points (2G, 2A) with both is goals coming on Oct. 19 in a 3-2 win in Ontario. Jayson Megna leads the series for Colorado with five points (3G, 2A) as he posted a four-point game (2G, 2A) in a 6-1 win on Dec. 13 as he and Tristan Nielsen have goals in back-to-back games. Alex Barré-Boulet scored both his goals on Dec. 13 while Ronnie Attard notched four assists. Colorado has outscored Ontario 10-7 as both of Ontario’s wins have been by scores of 3-2. The Reign are 4-for-17 on the power-play and 8-for-9 on the penalty kill.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: For Ontario, Glenn Gawdin has been held point-less in the last two games after a 12-game point streak (3G, 13A). He has been held goal-less in his last 11 games since scoring in back-to-back games in Colorado. He is tied for fifth in the AHL with 23 assists while his 29 points are tied for 12^th. Nikita Alexandrov has been held without a goal in the last seven games but has eight assists during that span. He has 15 points (4G, 11A) in 16 games with Ontario and is tied for sixth in the league with 22 assists and tied for 12^th with 29 points. Cole Guttman is expected to be back in the lineup after being loaned to Ontario from LA on Saturday after being a healthy scratch for the Kings on Friday and Saturday. He has four goals in his last four games and seven points (4G, 3A) in his last five.

For Colorado, Alex Barré-Boulet is tied for seventh in the AHL with 34 points while his 23 assists are tied for fifth as he has a 10-game point streak (5G, 13A). During his point streak he has five multi-point games including two three assist contests in his last four. Former Ontario captain, T.J. Tynan, is tied for third in the league with 25 assists and played 8:13 for the Avalanche on Saturday in a 4-0 win vs. Columbus, his first NHL game of the season, but was returned to the Eagles on Sunday. Jayson Megna is tied for fourth in the league with 18 goals having scored 12 in his last 12 games. Jack Ahcan is tied for fifth among AHL defenseman with 22 points, sixth with 17 assists, and fourth with five goals.

BETWEEN TWO PIPES: For the Reign, Pheonix Copley made 20 saves on 21 shots in the 3-0 loss on Sunday and has won two of his last three starts and seven of his last 10 after starting the season just 2-5-0. He 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 made 29 saves on Friday and has now won six straight decisions holding a 7-1-1 mark this season with a 2.19 goals against average and .916 save percentage. He returned to the lineup last 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.

For the Eagles, Kyle Keyser pitched the 35 save shutout Saturday in a 6-0 win in his first AHL appearance since Oct. 29. With the win he improved to 3-1-0 this season having posted two shutouts with a 1.00 goals against average and .959 SV%. Isak Posch had started the previous four games and made 20 saves on 24 shots in a 5-4 shootout loss vs. San Diego on Friday. After winning three straight games he is 1-1-1-1 in his last four starts. Trent Miner has been up with the Avalanche since Jan. 3 and made 29 saves on Saturday for his first career NHL shutout in his fifth NHL appearance.

QUICK HITS ONTARIO

• Sunday marked the first of a season long six straight games on the road with the Reign possessing a 9-7-0-0 mark on the road compared to 13-4-1-1 on home ice. They’ve won four straight at Toyota Arena while they had won three straight on the road prior to the loss in Bakersfield Sunday.

• The Reign have collected a point in eight of their last 11 games, 7-2-0-1, and are 13-6-0-1 since Nov. 21.

• Ontario is 12-3-1-1 in one-goal games having won nine of their last 11 and three straight. Ontario has played beyond regulation eight times this season with a 4-1 overtime record and a 2-1 shootout mark.

• The Reign have scored three or more goals in nine of their last 10 games. They’ve scored first in three of their last four games and are 13-2-0-0 when taking a 1-0 lead.

• Ontario has a power-play goal in five of their last six games, 6-for-23, and are 25-for-29 on the penalty kill in their last eight games.

• The Reign are 10-2-1 when leading after the first period and 15-0-1 when leading after two periods. They’re 3-7-0-0 when tied trailing after the first period and 3-9-0-0 when trailing after two periods. They hold a 9-2-0-1 mark when tied after the first period and 4-2-0-1 when tied after two periods.

• Ontario is 12-5-0-1 when outshooting their opponents compared to 9-6-1-0 when being outshot.

QUCIK HITS COLORADO

• Tonight, marks game three of a six-game homestand for Colorado as the Eagles hold one of the best records on home ice with a 13-4-0-1 mark having outscored their opponents 63-39. They have a five-game point streak at Blue Arena, 4-0-0-1, with their last regulation coming on Dec. 12 in a 3-2 defeat vs. the Reign.

• Since Dec. 13 the Eagles have a point in eight of their last nine games, 6-1-1-1, but are 1-1-0-1 in their last three contests.

• Colorado is third in the AHL averaging 3.44 goals for per game and 2.31 goals against per contest.

• The Eagles are eighth in the league on the power-play at 22.7% while first on home ice at 31.5%.

• They’re sixth in the AHL on the penalty kill at 83.7% and are tied for third with five short-handed goals.