REIGN PREVIEW 3/13 – Ontario at Coachella Valley

REIGN PREVIEW 3/13 – Ontario at Coachella Valley
WHO: Ontario Reign (38-16-1-2, 79pts, 1st) at Coachella Valley Firebirds (30-20-5-0, 65pts, 5th)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #58/72
WHEN: Friday, March 13 @ 7:00 Pacific
WHERE: Acrisure Arena – Palm Desert, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign and Coachella Valley Firebirds kick-off a back-to-back tonight from Acrisure Arena.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR ONTARIO: The Reign saw their win streak end on Wednesday night at seven games falling 4-3 in a shootout vs. Colorado at Toyota Arena. During the streak the Reign outscored their opponents 27-14, scoring four or more goals in six games while keeping their opposition to three or fewer in all seven. With 15 games remaining the Reign hold a three-point lead in the division standings on Colorado who has a game in hand on Ontario.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR COACHELLA VALLEY: The Firebirds look for their third straight victory after collecting a two-game series sweep over Calgary in California last weekend defeating the Wranglers 4-1 on Sunday and 4-2 on Friday. Coachella Valley has not won three games in a row since Feb.6-13, but have now won three of their last four contests. It’s the third game of a three-game homestand before the Firebirds play five straight on the road. Coachella Valley sits fifth place in the division with 65 points and 17 games to play.

HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES: Ontario holds a 2-1-0 record vs. the Coachella Valley this season but the Firebirds have outscored the Reign 9-7. Cole Guttman paces the way offensively for the Reign with four points (2G, 2A) while four different skaters for the Firebirds have three points including Jagger Firkus and Lleyton Roed who each have two goals. Ontario is a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill while they’re 2-for-8 on power-play.
– 1/3/26 Ontario, 3-2 Win (Home)
– 1/23/26 Ontario, 3-2 OT Win (Away)
– 2/1/26 Coachella Valley, 5-1 Win (Home)

BETWEEN TWO PIPES: For Ontario, Erik Portillo and Pheonix Copley had shared the net alternating starts for 26 but it was Portillo who got his second straight start on Wednesday as he suffered the defeat making 17 saves on 20 shots. He has won four of his last five games, 11 of 14 since returning from injury after missing 16 consecutive games from Nov.13-Jan.2 and is victorious in 15 of his last 18 decisions. Copley earned his third straight win last Friday making 30 saves and is now victorious in five of his last six. For Coachella Valley, Victor Östman picked up the win last Sunday making 15 saves on 16 shots for his second victory in his last three games. Nikke Kokko had started the previous three games most recently making 38 saves on 40 shots last Saturday for the win as he has also won two of his last three starts.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR INDIVIDUALLY FOR ONTARIO: Cole Guttman stretched his point streak to five-games (2G, 4A) Wednesday with an assist and now has 11 points (5G, 6A) in his last 12 games while he is tied for second on the team with 43 points (20G, 23A) in 53 games. Glenn Gawdin notched a goal and an assist Wednesday for his second straight game taking the team leading in scoring with 44 points (13G, 31A) in 57 games this year and has 10 points (5G, 5A) in his last 13.

 WHAT TO WATCH FOR INDIVIDUALLY FOR COACHELLA VALLEY: Jani Nyman has 16 points (10G, 6A) in his last 15 games having collected 25 points (17G, 8A) in 27 games for the Firebirds while having played 24 games with the Seattle Kraken this year notching six points (4G, 2A). Jagger Firkus has recorded 14 points (6G, 8A) in his last 14 games and is second on the team with 52 points (20G, 32A) in 55 games while Logan Morrison leads the club with 53 points (26G, 27A) in 55 games.

GOAL SCORING AT A PREMIUM: The Reign have scored four or more goals in 29 of 57 games this season where they  hold a 26-2-1-0 mark.

GETTING ON THE BOARD FIRST: The Reign have taken a 1-0 lead in nine of their last 10 games holding a 24-5-0-1 record when drawing first blood this season.

TEAM NOTES:
Ontario
Goals For: 3rd (3.39)
Goals Against: 7th (2.72)
Power-Play: 8th (21%)
Penalty Kill: 3rd (85.1%)

Coachella Valley
Goals For: 7th (3.35)
Goals Against: 14th (3.09)
Power-Play: 24th (16.9%)
Penalty Kill: 25th (79%)