REIGN FINAL – Reign 5, Silver Knights 3 – Sturm, Madden

The Ontario Reign (2-1-0) erased a first period deficit with two goals in the second and tacked on insurance in the third to defeat the Henderson Silver Knights (1-2-0) by a final score of 5-3 at Toyota Arena on Tuesday night. Five different scorers did the damage for Ontario, including forwards Rasmus Kupari (1-2=3) and Tyler Madden (1-1=2), who each had multi-point efforts.

Goaltender Matt Villalta posted a win in his first start of the season, turning out 27 shots in the victory. Ontario also got goals from forwards Akil Thomas, Alan Quine and Nate Thompson, while defender Tobie Bisson recorded his first Reign point with a second period assist.

BOX SCORE

More from head coach Marco Sturm and Madden below.

Madden put the Reign in front early on, scoring the first goal of the night while Ontario was killing a penalty to Aidan Dudas to make it 1-0. While coming down the right wing on a shorthanded rush, the third-year attacker netted his first of the year in unassisted fashion with a wrist shot up high.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Henderson’s Maxim Marushev scored to tie things up at 1-1 just 2:10 after Madden’s initial strike. The Silver Knights continued their momentum and took the lead at 13:48 of the opening frame on Byron Froese’s first of two goals in the game.

Ontario battled back in the second and tied the game at 2-2 on Kupari’s first goal of the season, which came on the power play from Jordan Spence and TJ Tynan. After an earlier chance for Kupari in tight was blocked, he found an open space on the left circle and Spence found him for a wrist shot that went off the right post and in.

After successfully killing off a lengthy 5-on-3 opportunity for Henderson, the Reign went back in front during the final minute of the period when Madden found Thomas during a 3-on-2 rush into the offensive zone. Thomas wired a shot to the top right corner of the net for his second goal of the season, which also had a second assist from Bisson.

Quine extended the Ontario lead at 4:15 of the third with his first Reign goal that was set up by Kupari, who drove the puck from end-to-end before dropping it back into the slot. Quine was there waiting for the puck and wristed it into a gaping net, with goaltender Michael Hutchinson out of position.

Froese put the Silver Knights back within a goal at 4-3 by lifting a rebound past a sprawling Villalta with a backhand shot at 8:07 of the final frame, but Henderson was unable to get any closer and Thomson sealed the win for Ontario with an empty-net goal in the final minute that was set up by Kupari and Aidan Dudas.

Kupari’s power play marker was the only man-advantage goal of the game, with the Reign finishing 1-for-3 while holding Henderson 0-for-4. The Silver Knights had the edge in shots-on-net by a 30-27 margin. Hutchinson suffered the loss for the visitors, making 22 saves in defeat.

Ontario is back in action this weekend when they face the San Diego Gulls in a home-and-home series that begins at 7 p.m. on Friday at Pechanga Arena and concludes Saturday night at Toyota Arena with puck drop scheduled for 6 p.m.

Marco Sturm
On coming from behind to get the win
We had a really good start. Everyone was really going and the first goal against kind of broke us down a little bit. I think the momentum was gone all of a sudden. They had it and they had the lead. It was not the prettiest game, but that was just one of those games. I told the guys, hockey is not always pretty and those are the games that we have to win, and we did. I think we got a lot better in the third. We just controlled the game a little bit better. There’s still work to do but I’m happy and I think we’re happy with the win tonight.

On the 5-on-3 penalty kill and other special teams moments
That was huge. That was the biggest kill, having almost two full minutes three against five. The guys did an outstanding job. I think [Villalta] was good in the net today. He looked pretty strong. Special teams is always really important in any league. There were a lot of penalties but I think it was good for us on the PK. We found a little bit of a rhythm. We know we have a good power play but we have to work for it too. It was nice to see that they responded too.

On Matt Villalta’s performance in net
I liked him. I think he rebounded really well after the first goal. Maybe he would want that one back, but he was involved. He was ready. He played the puck really well. That’s a big strength and he came up with big saves at the right times. He was really good tonight.

On the Thompson-Helenius-Doty line playing well
That’s why I played them almost until the end. They deserved it. I know that with some of the penalties, they’re sometimes sitting on the bench a little longer than they wanted to, but that’s just part of the game. I think some other guys stepped up today and that was really nice to see.

Tyler Madden
On his performance and playing with Akil Thomas and Aidan Dudas
I felt good. I think my line played a great game. I love playing with those guys and we started off hot and continued the rest of the game. It was a good game. Any time you get the puck [to Akil Thomas] below the tops of the circles, it’s a good thing. He can rip it. I enjoyed playing with him and Dudas especially.

On his shorthanded goal
I came down thinking pass the whole way and I think the goalie saw that. As soon as I picked my head up and looked at him, he was already cheating, so I saw short side and I just put it there.

On how he’s settled back in after missing the first game
I think the first game was kind of just figuring it out a little bit. Coming back, I didn’t get that many skates before [the games] so it felt a little slow toward the end. Today, I was well prepared, did the right things, and felt pretty good out there.

On his goal for the season
I think just playing all the games this year, and not just playing in them, but being a factor in every single one. It was a good start, but there’s a lot more to do.