PREVIEW – Ontario vs. Bakersfield, 2/15

WHO: Ontario Reign (15-23-4-2) vs. Bakersfield Condors (29-15-2-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR SEASON GAME
WHEN: Friday, February 15, @ 7:00 PM
WHERE: Citizens Business Bank Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: AHLTV – AUDIO – Mixlr – TWITTER: @ontarioreign & @reigninsider

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign are back in action to kick off a home-and-home set against Bakersfield, beginning this evening on home ice. The Reign enter tonight’s game off of a 4-3, comeback victory over San Jose on Sunday, where they scored the game winner inside the final minute of regulation.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Reign took two of their three games played last week, mixing in a split against San Diego with Sunday’s win over San Jose. The Reign have yet to topple Bakersfield on home ice this season, with the Condors taking the most recent meeting by a 6-2 final on February 2. Ontario has won the lone game at Rabobank Arena, however, defeating Bakersfield 3-2 in late-November. The Reign skated this morning at Toyota Sports Center, on the ice at 9 AM. Goaltender Cal Petersen was first off for the Reign after morning skate.

BLUE STREAK: Bakersfield enters tonight’s action on a 13-game winning streak, extended with a victory over Stockton on Wednesday. Goaltender Shane Starrett has won 11 of the 13 games and has allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of his 11 victories, with a 1.55 goals against average and a .942 save percentage in total. The Condors have four forwards scoring at over a point-per-game pace in that span, led by 13 goals and 18 points from forward Josh Currie, who leads the AHL in goals since January 12.

PHILLING THE NET: Reign forward Philippe Maillet collected eight points (3-5-8) from three games played last week and tallied multiple points in each of the three Ontario games. Maillet extended his run with a pair of goals on Sunday against San Jose, his third multi-goal game of the season. Maillet now leads all Ontario players with 22 assists this season, with his 33 points trailing only team-leader Matt Moulson.

FIFTY SHADES OF SAVE: Ontario goaltender Cal Petersen turned in one of his finest efforts of the season on Sunday as he stopped 52 of the 55 shots he faced to earn the victory. Petersen’s 52 stops were the highest total of his professional career, surpassing his AHL career high of 42 (1/21 vs. San Diego) and his overall professional career high of 43 (12/11/18 vs. Buffalo, with Los Angeles.

HERR OF THE DOG: Reign forward Sam Herr scored the game-winning goal on Sunday with less than a minute to play against San Jose. Herr’s tally was his first since December 22 and marked his sixth goal overall this season, one clear of last season’s total and two shy of his career high. The fourth-year forward recently moved into the Top-5 all-time in Reign games played (169), surpassing Michael Mersch earlier this month.

HERE’S JONNY: The Reign received reinforcements yesterday as forward Jonny Brodzinski was assigned by Los Angeles on a conditioning stint. Brodzinski has missed the entire season to date after he suffered an upper-body injury during preseason play in September. Brodzinski ranks second all-time in goals (55) and points (107) in Reign history an also holds the single-season Reign goal scoring record (27, 2016-17 season).

REIGNING IN LOS ANGELES: Ontario alums had a big night last night with the Kings, accounting for two of three goals in the team’s shootout defeat against Vancouver. Forwards Austin Wagner and Mike Amadio both found the back of the net with the big club. Wagner has now collected four goals over his last four games, giving him eight in total on the season, while Amadio collected a goal and a +2 rating, his third NHL tally of the season.