12/21 REIGN FINAL – Reign 0, Canucks 6

The Abbotsford Canucks (16-8-2-0) used a dominating second period to earn a decisive decision over the Ontario Reign (15-9-2-1) Thursday night by a score of 6-0 in front of their home fans at the Abbotsford Centre.

Arturs Silovs stopped all 34 shots the Reign sent on goal to record his second shutout of the season, while six different skaters scored goals for the Canucks and Abbotsford defender Cole McWard registered three assists.

BOX SCORE

The Canucks took the lead late in the opening period, scoring the only goal of the first to cap off a lengthy shift in the Reign zone when Arshdeep Bains tapped in a feed at the side of the net at 14:38.

Abbotsford opened things up in the second, scoring five times to extend the lead before the second intermission.

Nick Cicek started off the scoring in the middle frame, netting the second tally of the game at 1:41 before Tristen Nielsen scored less than two minutes later at 3:03 to make it 3-0.

Three minutes after Nielsen’s strike, Linus Karlsson registered Abbotsford’s lone goal of the night on the power play, scoring at 6:03. John Stevens then made it a 5-0 game at 7:17, which led to Ontario making a change in goal with Jacob Ingham replacing Erik Portillo.

Sheldon Dries got the final marker of the second, scoring his team-leading 13th of the season for the Canucks at 10:34.

While Ontario outshot Abbotsford 13-9 in the final period, they were unable to get any closer on the scoreboard during the third and suffered their second loss of the week in British Columbia.

Before his exit, Portillo saved 22 shots in a losing effort, while Ingham turned out 14 of the 15 attempts he saw in the final 32 minutes of the game. Abbotsford finished 1-for-3 on the power play in the contest while the Reign were 0-for-5.

Ontario has hit the league’s holiday break and have six days until they return to action on Thursday, December 28 in San Diego for a 7 p.m. game against the Gulls at Pechanga Arena.