REIGN PREVIEW 2/1 – Ontario at Tucson

WHO: Ontario Reign (25-14-1-1) at Tucson Roadrunners (19-19-2-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #42
WHEN: Saturday, February 1 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Tucson Arena – Tucson, AZ
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: Just one game separates the Ontario Reign from the AHL’s All-Star break, and they’ll wrap up the first half of the season with their second contest in as many nights at the Tucson Arena against the Roadrunners on Saturday.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: After a win on Friday, Ontario remains tied for second place in the Pacific Division standings alongside Coachella Valley with 52 points apiece. Tucson, on the other hand, is on the outside looking in at the division’s playoff picture after seven consecutive losses and holds eighth place with 40 points, two back of Bakersfield for the seventh and final postseason spot. Anytime the Reign have scored first this year, they’ve had the upper hand, posting a 13-2-0-1 mark in the 16 games where they’ve taken an initial lead. Tucson is 13-5-1 from the 19 games this season where they’ve netted the opening goal. Ontario ranks eighth in the league on the offensive end with 136 tallies in 41 outings for an average of 3.32 per game, while ranking 11th on the defensive side of the puck by allowing 2.85 goals per contest. The Reign also average the third-most shots on goal per contest in the league (32.02), while the Roadrunners are 10-5-0 when they out-shoot their opponent.

LAST TIME OUT: Back-to-back goals in a span of 39 seconds during the second period was enough offense for the Ontario Reign to defeat the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday night at Tucson Arena by a score of 2-1. Jack Studnicka and Charles Hudon had the goals for the Reign, while goaltender Pheonix Copley stopped all but one of Tucson’s 22 shots on goal to record his third consecutive win in between the pipes.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Reign have earned wins in both of their meetings with Tucson during the 2024-25 campaign, holding the Roadrunners to just one goal in each contest and outscoring them 6-2 combined in the series. Both clubs have scored once on the man-advantage this year, with Ontario going 1-for-7 (14.3%) and Tucson 1-for-8 (12.5%). A year ago, the two teams were evenly matched, with each winning four of the eight scheduled meetings during the 2023-24 regular season despite Ontario outscoring Tucson 30-19. Glenn Gawdin leads Ontario in this year’s series with three points from the two games on two goals and an assist, while Charles Hudon has points from both Reign wins with one goal and one helper.

CAN’T STOP COP(LEY): Reign goaltender Pheonix Copley is on his best run of the 2024-25 season, allowing one or fewer goals in four consecutive starts dating back to the middle of January. Copley has earned wins from his last three appearances, including a victory over Calgary in Ontario on Jan. 21, before posting a 27-save shutout of Coachella Valley last Saturday and denying another 21 shots in Friday’s win in Tucson. The North Pole, Alaska native’s hot stretch has lowered his season-long goals-against average to 2.45, while raising his save percentage to 0.906. Copley’s goals-against ranks as the ninth best in the league among active qualifying netminders. In 257 career AHL games since 2014-15, Copley has a 2.51 goals-against and a 0.911 save percentage while posting 137 wins and 17 shutout performances.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS: Tucson finished in second place in the Pacific Division standings last season but bowed out in the opening round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, dropping a best-of-3 series to the Calgary Wranglers. Head Coach Steve Potvin is back behind the bench for a third season and his eighth year overall as a coach with the Roadrunners. Forward Kailer Yamamoto leads the team in scoring with 32 points in 32 games this season on 13 goals and 19 assists. Veteran forward Andrew Agozzino has also made a big impact with 25 points on 10 goals and 15 assists, while Cameron Hebig has a team-high 14 goals along with 14 assists for 28 points in 35 games and will represent the Pacific Division at the upcoming AHL All-Star Classic this week. Defenders Robbie Russo and Artem Duda lead the blueliners with 16 points apiece. In net, Jaxson Stauber has split time with incumbent Matt Villalta, with Stauber holding a 6-5-0 record from 11 appearances while also seeing four games of NHL action with Utah. Villalta is 10-14-2 from 26 contests with a 2.94 goals-against average and a 0.904 save percentage.

STUDNICKA KEEPS ROLLING: Reign forward Jack Studnicka scored in his third consecutive game during Friday night’s win, his second three-game goal scoring streak of the 2024-25 year. The Windsor, Ontario native has points in five of his last six games and a total of 25 in 41 contests this season, surpassing his 21 AHL points from a year ago which came in 36 games. Of late, Studnicka has been clicking with linemates Taylor Ward and Andre Lee. His three power play goals on the year have tied a career-high, while his two game-winning strikes have set a new high bar for the sixth-year pro. Studnicka has totaled 142 points in 194 career AHL games on 53 goals and 89 assists.

SHOT STATS: The Reign have out-shot their opponents in seven of their last eight games, dating back to the middle of January and have only seen one opponent register more shots on goal than them since the calendar flipped to 2025. While ranking third in the league in shots on goal per game, Ontario is also second in shots allowed, surrendering an average of only 26 opportunities per contest this season. When the Reign have more shots than their opponent, they hold a record of 17-9-1 this year, while still earning an 8-4-0-1 mark from games in which they’ve been out chanced.

Reign Check Gameday Forecast

2024-25 Head-to-Head Schedule vs. Tucson:
Wed., Nov. 13 vs. Tucson, 4-1 W – Full Recap
Fri., Jan. 31 at Tucson, 2-1 W – Full Recap
Sat., Feb. 1 at Tucson 6 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 12 vs. Tucson, 7 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 5 vs. Tucson, 7 p.m.
Tue., Mar. 11 at Tucson, 6:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 12 at Tucson, 6:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 26 vs. Tucson, 7 p.m.