REIGN PREVIEW 10/27 – Ontario vs. Henderson

WHO: Ontario Reign (1-3-0-0) vs. Henderson Silver Knights (1-5-0-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #5
WHEN: Sunday, October 27 @ 3:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign and Henderson Silver Knights open a three game series Sunday afternoon at Toyota Arena, the first of eight total meetings between the clubs during the 2024-25 regular season.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Both sides of today’s matchup have gotten off to a slower start than they’d like in the standings, with each team having secured just one win on the year. Ontario is looking to get their power play going in the right direction, having scored just once on the man-advantage in 21 opportunities during its first four contests. Henderson has struggled on the defensive side of the puck, allowing 27 goals in six outings, an average of 4.5 per game. Despite allowing a season-high 40 shots on goal in their most recent loss to Coachella Valley on Friday, the Reign still average the fourth-lowest shot total in the AHL through four games (25.2).

LAST TIME OUT: The Coachella Valley Firebirds scored three times in the first period to take a commanding lead on their way to a 5-2 defeat of the Ontario Reign Friday night at Acrisure Arena. Pheonix Copley was under siege in the game but managed to stop 35 of the 39 shots that came his way in the contest. While the Reign fell behind early, forwards Shawn Element and Francesco Pinelli each netted their first goals of the season to keep the team in the game.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Ontario won five of the eight matchups against the Silver Knights during the 2023-24 regular season, posting a record of 5-1-1-1 that included three multi-goal victories. Overall, the Reign outscored the Silver Knights by a 29-21 margin in last year’s series. Henderson held a 237-214 edge in shots on goal in the eight contests. Brandt Clarke led all Reign skaters against the Silver Knights last season with 10 points on three goals and seven assists, while Samiel Fagemo had eight points on three goals and five assists.

PERFECT TIMING FOR PINELLI: Forward Francesco Pinelli drove to the net and batted a rebound out of the air to score his first goal of the season after his initial shot on goal was stopped at 6:27 of the third period on Friday in Coachella Valley. The second-year attacker, who also recorded his first point of the year with the goal, is looking to improve off a rookie campaign which consisted of 20 points on 13 goals and seven assists. The Stoney Creek, Ontario native was originally selected by the LA Kings in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft at 42nd overall.

SCOUTING THE SILVER KNIGHTS: Henderson is aiming to bounce back after a slow start to the 2024-25 season, winning just one of its first six games. The Silver Knights missed out on the Calder Cup Playoffs a year ago, finishing in eighth place in the Pacific Division and was the first team out of postseason competition. Forwards Tanner Laczynski and Gage Quinney are tied for the team lead in scoring after six contests, each recording five points on two goals and three assists. Forwards Jonas Rondbjerg and Matyas Sapovaliv have also recorded two goals apiece in the early going this year. Robert Hägg leads all Silver Knights defenders with four points on a goal and three assists. In goal, Akira Schmid has played in four of Henderson’s six games but is still looking for his first win, recording a save percentage of 0.851 in his first appearances with the Silver Knights. Carl Lindbom has also seen action in two games and has a 0.911 save percentage in 120 minutes of play.

ELEMENT BREAKS THROUGH: Forward Shawn Element scored his first goal as a member of the Ontario Reign Friday night, putting the team on the board at 14:30 of the second period with a shot that beat goaltender Ales Stezka off a pass by Jack Studnicka. Element is now in his fourth professional season and has an even split of goals and assists with 21 tallies and 21 helpers during his 148-game AHL career, which previously consisted of 144 contests with the Syracuse Crunch. He also had an even nine goals and nine assists in each of his last two campaigns with Syracuse. The Victoriaville, Quebec native appeared in 64 AHL games a year ago, the most he’s played in a single season during his pro career.

MORE OF MADDEN: Fifth-year Reign forward Tyler Madden has scored in two of Ontario’s last three games, netting an opening tally just 1:33 into the team’s win over San Jose on Oct. 13 before picking up a power play goal last Friday night against Bakersfield. Madden is tied with Samuel Helenius for the team’s goal-scoring lead after four games and became the first player to score on the man-advantage for the Reign this year. The 24-year-old has quickly picked up where he left off last year when he set career-highs in points (34) and assists (19) during the regular season before scoring five times in the Calder Cup Playoffs to lead all Reign skaters. Last season also saw Madden eclipse the 200-game mark with Ontario, as well as the 100-point plateau. His 208 games are tied for second all-time in the team’s AHL history, even with former captain Vincent LoVerde.