REIGN PREVIEW 10/2 – Ontario at Coachella Valley

WHO: Ontario Reign (0-0-0-0) at Coachella Valley Firebirds (0-0-0-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #1
WHEN: Friday, October 2 @ 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 begin their 12^th season of AHL hockey tonight under second year head coach, Andrew Lord, on the road against the Coachella Valley Firebirds to open the 2025-26 campaign.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Reign enter this season as the defending Pacific Division champions after posing 99 points with an overall record of 47-20-3-2 setting franchise high’s in total wins, points, and 26 home victories. After earning a first round by in the Calder Cup Playoffs last spring, the Reign were bounced by the Firebirds in round number two losing in double overtime, in a deciding game five by a final score of 3-2.

WHO TO WATCH FOR: Ontario officially announced their opening roster earlier today consisting of 27 players; 15 forwards, nine defensemen, and three goaltenders. Of the 27 skaters on the roster 20 of them suited up for the Reign a season ago. Forwards Kenny Connors and Jared Wright each saw action in the NHL for the Kings last year and are set to begin their second pro campaigns. Connors led all Reign rookies in scoring with 41 points (15G, 26A) in 65 games while playing two games in the NHL while Jared Wright spent much of the second half of the year in the NHL totaling 23 regular season games with the Kings and four playoff contests. In the AHL, Wright led all Reign first year skaters with 17 goals finishing with 30 points in 54 games. Martin Chromiak enters his fifth professional year after leading the squad last season with 28 goals and tying for first with 56 points, while forwards Francesco Pinelli, Cole Guttman, and Aatu Jämsen are all coming off career years.

NEW FACES: There will be plenty of new faces to keep an eye on heading into the season. Veteran forward Lane Pederson signed a one-year contract with LA this summer after leading the AHL’s Lehigh Valley with 23 goals and 48 points a year ago. The 29-year-old enters his 10^th professional season with 278 points (134G, 144A) in 374 AHL contests while having suited up in 76 NHL games, including five last season with Philadelphia. Also signing a one-year contract with the Kings over the summer is defenseman Scott Perunovich. The 28-year-old is a former second round draft pick of St. Louis back in 2018 and should provide a lot of offense on the blue line after finishing third among AHL defenders last season with 49 points and second with 40 assists skating for the Tucson Roadrunners. He has totaled 91 points (14G, 77A) in 103 career AHL contests while skating in 108 NHL games. Kings sixth round pick in 2024, Jared Woolley, is set to make his professional debut after an outstanding career in the OHL capturing back-to-back Memorial Cup Championships, last season with Kitchner and London the year prior.  

GOALTENDING TRIO: The Reign will start the season with three goaltenders on the roster, two of which enter this first professional season. LA’s fourth round pick in 2023, Hampton Slusknysky, made his pro debut with Ontario last April making 21 saves in a 4-1 win vs. Coachella after signing his three-year, entry-level contract after an outstanding collegiate career at Western Michigan University where he helped the Broncos to an NCAA Championship. Carter George the Kings second round pick from 2024 gears up for his first pro campaign after three seasons in the OHL, most recently splitting time last season with the Owen Sound Attack and Soo Greyhounds. George did appear in two games with the Reign back in the 2024-25 season earning a 33 save shutout in his pro debut in a 4-0 win at San Jose on Apr. 12, 2025. Meanwhile, Erik Portillo enters his fourth professional season after posting a 18-7-3 record with Ontario last year and has appeared in 93 games with the Reign in the last three years.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Reign and Firebirds met in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs last spring. Coachella Valley took game one shutting out Ontario 3-0 at Toyota Arena before the Reign took two games to one series lead with a 5-1 win on home ice and 2-1 victory on the road. The Firebirds forced a deciding game five with a 6-2 win in game four. J.R. Avon scored 1:47 into double overtime of game five for a 3-2 Firebirds victory sending Coachella Valely into the third round. Ontario posted a 5-1-2 record vs. Coachella Valley during the regular season including a 3-0-1-0 mark at Acrisure Arena. Four of the eight contests went to overtime with each team winning twice in the extra frame. The Reign outscored the Firebirds 26-19 in the series while going 5-for-24 on the power-play and 17-for-18 on the penalty kill. Cole Guttman paced the way offensively in the series with 10 points (5G, 5A) including a four-point game highlighted by his first pro hat-trick in a 7-0 win on Apr.1

SCOUTING THE FIREBIRDS: The Firebirds get set for their fifth season of play under third year head coach, Derek Laxdal. In each of their first four year’s they have qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs, finishing fourth in the Pacific Division last season posting 88 points and a 41-25-6-0 overall record. Coachella Valley returns many key pieces to their lineup from a year ago including defenseman Tyson Jugnauth who led all AHL rookie defenders last season with 45 points and 36 assists while being named to the AHL All-Rookie team. Offensively speaking, Logan Morrison returns for his fourth year with the Firebirds after leading the club with 61 points and 29 goals a year ago while Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, Jagger Firkus, Jani Nyman were among the leading scorers for the team. Just earlier this week Coachella Valley announced veteran forward John Hayden as their second captain in franchise history.