REIGN PREVIEW 2/8 – Ontario vs. San Diego

WHO: Ontario Reign (26-14-1-1) vs. San Diego Gulls (12-23-5-2)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #43
WHEN: Saturday, February 8 @ 6:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: KCAL+ / FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign return from the AHL’s All-Star break for a matchup against the San Diego Gulls on Saturday night at Toyota Arena. Coming into Saturday’s contest, the Reign have won five of their last six games and three of four against San Diego this season.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: After 42 games and 30 still to play, Ontario is sitting in a tie for third place in the Pacific Division standings alongside Colorado with 54 points apiece. The Reign are just two points behind Coachella Valley for second and six back of first place Calgary with four games in hand on both of the teams they’re trailing. San Diego on the other hand, is at the bottom of the division and on the outside looking in at a playoff berth with 31 points from their 42 games. Anytime the Reign have scored first this year, they’ve had the upper hand, posting a 14-2-0-1 mark in the 17 games in which they’ve taken an initial lead. San Diego is just 6-7-1-2 from the 16 contests where they’ve netted the opening goal. Ontario ranks seventh in the league on the offensive end with 141 tallies for an average of 3.36 per game, while ranking 11th on the defensive side of the puck by allowing 2.88 goals per contest. The Reign also average the second-most shots on goal in the league (32.21), while the Gulls are 3-3-2 in road games that have been decided by one goal.

LAST TIME OUT: Despite allowing a three-goal comeback in the third period, the Ontario Reign hung on to defeat the Tucson Roadrunners in a shootout on Saturday night at Tucson Arena by a final score of 5-4, sweeping the weekend series in Arizona. Reign forwards Taylor Ward and Jeff Malott led the way offensively, each scoring twice in the victory, while Glenn Gawdin added two assists and goaltender Erik Portillo stopped 27 shots before denying both shootout attempts he faced.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Ontario has claimed victories in three of its four previous matchups against San Diego this season, three of which have been played down south at Pechanga Arena. The Reign defeated the Gulls 4-1 on Nov. 23, scoring twice in the final five minutes of the first period and remaining in front the rest of the way. Glenn Gawdin led the offense for the Reign that night with three assists against his former team, while Jack Studnicka and Jeff Malott each posted a goal and an assist and goaltender Erik Portillo stopped 33 of 34 shots to earn the win. Ontario then pulled out a 2-1 decision in a shootout on Dec. 7 by overcoming a penalty in overtime before Taylor Ward scored the winner in the skill session. San Diego outlasted the Reign in another shootout finish on Dec. 27 despite 31 saves from Erik Portillo, but Ontario won the most recent matchup by a 4-1 score with three third period goals at Toyota Arena on Jan. 3.

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 Jan. 25 and denying another 21 shots in last Friday’s win over 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 10th-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 GULLS: San Diego comes into Saturday’s contest on the heels of a 3-2 loss to Coachella Valley in overtime Friday night. Forward Sasha Pastujov is the team’s leading scorer on the season after a 19-point January that earned him AHL Player of the Month honors. He collected points in all but one contest during a month that included six goals and 13 assists in 12 games. Pastujov now has 30 points on the year with 12 goals and 18 helpers. Rookie forward Sam Colangelo is second on the team with 26 points on 15 goals and 11 assists in 29 outings. Jan Myšák has totaled 24 points on 11 goals and 13 assists. Captain Ryan Carpenter also has 23 points in 42 games on 10 goals and 13 assists. Tristan Luneau leads all Gulls defenders with 23 points in 29 games on five goals and 18 assists. In goal, Calle Clang has played in 26 of San Diego’s contests, helping produce eight of 12 wins with a goals-against average of 3.20 along with a 0.893 save percentage. Oscar Dansk has also seen action in 20 games.

STUDNICKA KEEPS ROLLING: Reign forward Jack Studnicka scored in his third consecutive game during last Friday night’s win in Tucson and added an assist the following night on a goal by linemate Taylor Ward. The streak was the second time he had scored in three straight during the 2024-25 year. The Windsor, Ontario native has points in six of his last seven games and a total of 26 in 42 contests this season, surpassing his 21 AHL points from a year ago which came in 36 games. Of late, Studnicka has been clicking with Ward and Andre Lee, who were both on the scoresheet during each game in Tucson last week. 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 143 points in 195 career AHL games on 53 goals and 90 assists.

SHOT STATS: The Reign have out-shot their opponents in eight of their last nine 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 second in the league in shots on goal per game, Ontario is also third in shots allowed, surrendering an average of only 26.17 opportunities per contest this season. When the Reign have more shots than their opponent, they hold a record of 18-9-1 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. San Diego:
Sat., Nov. 23 at San Diego, 4-1 W – Full Recap
Sat., Dec. 7 at San Diego, 2-1 W – Full Recap
Fri., Dec. 27 at San Diego, 3-4 SOL – Full Recap
Fri., Jan. 3 vs. San Diego, 4-1 W – Full Recap
Sat., Feb. 8 vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.
Fri., Mar. 7 vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 8 at San Diego, 6 p.m.
Fri., Apr. 18 vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.