REIGN PREVIEW 4/17 – Ontario vs. San Diego

REIGN PREVIEW 4/17 – Ontario vs. San Diego
WHO: Ontario Reign (46-19-3-2) vs. San Diego (33-25-8-4)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #71/72
WHEN: Friday, April 17 @ 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 wrap up the regular season this weekend at Toyota Arena this weekend beginning tonight vs. archrival San Diego.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR ONTARIO: The Reign captured their second Pacific Division regular season title last Saturday, their first since 2015-16, when Glenn Gawdin scored 17 seconds into overtime last Saturday completing a 3-2 win at Coachella Valley. The night prior, goaltender Hampton Slukynsky made his professional debut making 21 saves on 22 shots in a 4-1 victory at Toyota Arena over the Firebirds while Kenny Connors scored 17 seconds into overtime on Tuesday in a 2-1 overtime win vs. Colorado, a battle between the top teams in the division, where Henry Brzustewicz made his pro debut.

– The Reign have won five straight games outscoring their opponents 22-7 dating back to a 7-0 shutout win in Coachella Valley on April 1^st. Ontario is averaging 34.4 shots for over their last five games having hit 30 or more four times while holding their opponents to just an average of 24.8. Prior to their five-game win streak Ontario went 3-3-2-1 from Mar.11-Mar.28 scoring just 21 goals in the nine games.

– Ontario has collected a point in 18 of their last 21 games, 15-3-2-1, dating back to Feb. 18.

– The Reign are second in the AHL with 25 home victories posting a 25-5-2-2 record and have points in 12 straight, 10-0-1-1, having not lost on home ice in regulation since a 5-1 defeat vs. Coachella Valley on Feb. 1.

– Ontario has a power-play goal in five straight games, 5-for-17, which ties their longest streak of the season as they scored on the man advantage in five consecutive contests from Dec.31-Jan.9, 6-for-19. The Reign now have a power-play marker in eight of their last nine games, 9-for-29, from Mar.25-Apr.11, after going seven straight games from Mar.6-Mar.20 without a man advantage tally, 0-for-15. They’re 30-9-1 when scoring one power-play goal in a game this season and 16-2-1 when on home ice. The Reign have allowed a power-play goal against in eight of their last 11 games, 31-for-38.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR SAN DIEGO: The Gulls head into the weekend seventh in the Pacific Division with 78 points trailing San Jose by four. San Diego fell 5-1 to Tucson on Wednesday night as they’ve now dropped two of their last three games after winning their previous three. In their last 10 games they hold a 6-4-0 mark.

– The Gulls are 17-13-5-0 on the road this season but just 2-4-0 in their last six games.

– San Diego has a power-play goal in three of their last five games, 4-for-20, while allowing a power-play goal against in three of their last four games.

HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES: Ontario holds a 1-2-0 record vs. San Diego this season including a 1-0-0 mark at Toyota Arena. The Reign have been outscored 13-11 in the series as they’ve gone 2-for-10 on the power-play and a perfect 9-for-9 on the penalty kill. Martin Chromiak leads the way offensively for Ontario with four points (2G, 2A) while Judd Caulfield has seven points (2G, 5A) for San Diego.

Nov. 7, 2025: Ontario (4) at San Diego (6)
Nov. 8, 2025: Ontario (4) vs. San Diego (3) OT
Jan. 31, 2026: Ontario (3) at San Diego (4)

BETWEEN TWO PIPES: For Ontario, Erik Portillo picked up his second straight win making 27 saves on 29 shots Saturday in Coachella Valley. On Friday night Hampton Slukysnky recorded 21 saves on 22 shots earning the victory last night in his professional debut. Pheonix Copley picked up his fifth straight victory on Wednesday making 26 saves as he has made 122 saves on 127 shots during that span, 1.00 goals against average and .961 save percentage. He is 8-0-1 in his last nine games with a 1.64 GAA and .933 SV % and 10-1-1 in his last 12 with a 1.99 GAA and .918 SV%. For San Diego, Damian Clara suffered the loss on Wednesday allowing five goals on 21 shots in his second straight start after earning the win last Saturday making 36 saves on 39 shots in a 7-3 victory over Bakersfield. Calle Clang had made four straight starts prior to Clara’s back-to-back appearances, most recently he made 28 saves on 33 shots in a 5-3 loss at Bakersfield on Apr. 10. Clang is 3-1-0 in his last four starts and 4-2-0 in his last six. Tomas Suchanek last appeared on Mar. 29 when he allowed five goals on 21 shots in a 5-3 loss at Abbotsford on Mar. 29.

TEAM LEADERS:
Ontario
Points: Martin Chromiak, Cole Guttman, Nikita Alexandrov (53)
Goals: Martin Chromiak (27)
Assists Nikita Alexandrov (39)

San Diego
Points: Sasha Pastujov (56)
Goals: Justin Bailey (24)
Assists: Sasha Pastujov (35)

TEAM NOTES:
Ontario
Goals For: 7th (3.33)
Goals Against: 4th (2.63)
Power-Play: 8th (21.3%)
Penalty Kill: 5th (84.5%)

San Diego 
Goals For: 15th (3.13)
Goals Against: 16th (3.11)
Power-Play: 13th (19.2%)
Penalty Kill: 6th (84.4%)

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
Ontario
Martin Chromiak has 10 points (7G, 3A) in his last 10 games and 17 points (12G, 5A) in his last 20.
Kenny Connors has eight points (5G, 3A) in his last 12 games.
Glenn Gawdin has nine points (4G, 5A) in his last nine games and 13 points (6G, 7A) in his last 16.
Angus Booth has four assists in his last six games with a plus-seven rating.
Pheonix Copley has won five straight games, 8-0-1 in his last nine, and 10-1-1 in his last 12.
Nikita Alexandrov has eight points (2G, 6A) in his last eight games and 11 points (3G, 8A) in his last 12.
Cole Guttman has a five-game point streak (3G, 5A) and 11 points (4G, 7A) in his last 10 games.
Logan Brown has seven points (1G, 6A) in his last nine games.

San Diego
Stian Solberg has a point in two straight games (1G, 2A) and four points (1G, 3A) in his last five.
Justin Bailey has four goals in his last five games.
Sasha Pastujov has eight points (5G, 3A) in his last seven games.
Nathan Gaucher has nine points (7G, 2A) in his last eight games and made his NHL debut with the Ducks on Apr1
Matthew Phillips has a five-game point streak (4G, 3A).
Nico Myatovic has six points (2G, 4A) in his last six games.
Sam Colangelo has seven points (1G, 6A) in his last five games.