The Ontario Reign (33-16-1-1) defeated the Tucson Roadrunners (22-18-8-0) Saturday night by a final score of 4-2 in in front of 5,092 fans at the Tucson Convention Center. The Reign and Roadrunners will meet Sunday at 3 p.m. PST.
Francesco Pinelli extended his point streak to three-games opening the scoring early into the first period. Aatu Jämsen and Andre Lee scored 56 seconds apart from one another in the middle frame to give Ontario a 3-1 lead. Tucson struck late in the second period to make it a one-goal game coming into the third but the Reign shut it down outshooting the Roadrunners 12-3 in the final 20 minutes as Jack Millar sealed the deal with a short-handed empty-net goal with 73 seconds to play.
Ontario and Tucson were even at 1-1 through the opening 20 minutes of play. Francesco Pinelli (9th) started the scoring at 6:20 on a setup from Cole Guttman. The goal came just nine seconds after the Reign killed off a penalty. Guttman from the right-wing wall found Pinelli down the slot in all alone where he snapped a wrist shot past the right leg of Stauber. Austin Poganski tied the game with 3:55 left on a redirection near the crease off a point shot from Dmitrii Simashev. Shots were 9-7 Ontario.
The Reign led 3-2 through 40 minutes of play outshooting the Roadrunners 9-7 in the middle frame. Aatu Jämsen (14th) gave Ontario their second lead of the night at 11:50 when Francesco Pinelli won an offensive zone face-off in the right circle and Jämsen collected the puck at the dot and sent a wrist shot by the glove of Stauber. Then 56 seconds later Andre Lee (19th) increased the advantage to 3-1 from Kenny Connors and Otto Salin. In the high slot Connors fed Lee at the right circle where he zipped the puck through the legs of Stauber. Tucson got back within one with 1:17 left in the period on a two-on-one where Andrew Aggozino found Daniil But in the right circle. But pulled to his backhand at the crease and slid the puck by the right leg of Copley.
Tucson got a power-play down by one with 2:09 left in regulation and they pulled Stauber to make it a six-on-four advantage. With 73 seconds left Jack Millar (2nd) from the right hash marks flipped the puck the length of the ice into the empty-net giving the Reign a 4-2 win as they outshot the Roadrunners 12-3 in the final 20 minutes.
Pheonix Copley earned the win making 15 saves on 17 shots while Jaxson Stauber made 26 saves on 29 shots. Each team went 0-for-4 on the power-play.
Postgame thoughts from Andrew Lord and Francesco Pinelli.
Lord
Pinelli
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