REIGN PREVIEW 3/5 – Ontario vs. Tucson

WHO: Ontario Reign (31-17-2-1) vs. Tucson Roadrunners (25-22-3-2)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #52
WHEN: Wednesday, March 5 @ 7:00 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: Wednesday night’s battle in the Inland Empire will pit the Ontario Reign against the Tucson Roadrunners for the fifth time during the 2024-25 season. Ontario has won each of its four previous meetings with Tucson so far in the current campaign.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: A pair of losses in Colorado last weekend has Ontario in fourth place in the Pacific Division with 65 points, three back of first-place Coachella Valley. Tucson is in the seventh and final playoff spot in the division, having earned 55 points from 52 games, two ahead of Bakersfield. Anytime the Reign have scored first this season, which has only happened in 18 of their 51 outings, they’ve had the upper hand, posting a 15-2-0-1 mark from those contests. The Roadrunners have done well in close games this season, posting a 7-2-1-1 mark from the 11 games they’ve played that were tied after two periods. Ontario averages the third-most shots on goal in the league (31.84) while allowing the second-lowest total per game (26.0).

LAST TIME OUT: The Colorado Eagles were able to repeat their success from Friday night for a second consecutive day Saturday, defeating the Ontario Reign by a 4-0 score at Blue Arena to move into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division standings with 67 points. Goaltender Trent Miner made it back-to-back shutouts against Ontario, stopping 26 shots to keep the Reign scoreless for six consecutive periods on the weekend.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Reign have earned wins in all four of their meetings with Tucson during the 2024-25 campaign, holding the Roadrunners to just one goal in three of the contests and outlasting them in a shootout in the other on the first day of February. Overall, Ontario has outscored Tucson a combined 15-7 in the series and outshot them 132-99. The Reign have netted two power play goals (11.1%) and surrendered just three on 19 opportunities (84.2%). Glenn Gawdin and Charles Hudon lead Ontario in this year’s series, each earning an identical six points on two goals and four assists. Hudon, who had three points in the most recent matchup on Feb. 12, has registered a point in each of the four matchups. Jeff Malott has also posted five points on four goals and one assist. 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.

FINAL NUMBERS FROM FEBRUARY: The Reign finished the second month of 2025 with a 6-2-1 record, earning 13 of a possible 18 points from their nine games. Ontario’s only road loss from the 28-day month came in their final contest on Friday in Colorado. The other four scheduled games away from home were wins for the Reign, including a 3-0-0 road trip, which consisted of two victories in Calgary and another in San Jose. Charles Hudon led the way individually with 14 points on two goals, 12 assists and a plus-8 rating, while his linemate Jeff Malott was not far behind, posting 11 points with seven goals and four helpers. Captain Joe Hicketts also had six points while suiting up in all nine games, scoring two goals and four assists.

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. The Roadrunners are unbeaten in regulation in their last four contests and are coming into Wednesday’s matchup after taking three points from a home series with Rockford last weekend. Forward Kailer Yamamoto leads the team in scoring with 44 points in 43 games this season on 15 goals and 29 assists. Forward Egor Sokolov has also made a big impact with 39 points on 20 goals and 19 assists, while Cameron Hebig has just as many goals (20) along with 17 assists for 37 points in 42 games and represented the Pacific Division at the AHL All-Star Classic last month. Defenders Robbie Russo and Artem Duda lead the blueliners with 26 and 21 points, respectively. In net, Jaxson Stauber has split time with former Reign goaltender Matt Villalta, with Stauber holding a 9-5-2 record from 16 appearances while also seeing four games of NHL action with Utah. Villalta is 13-17-3 from 33 contests with a 2.96 goals-against average, a 0.905 save percentage and three shutouts.

SHOT STATS: The Reign have outshot their opponents in three straight games and have only allowed more chances on goal than they’ve earned in four of their last 27 games since returning from the league’s holiday break in late December. That discrepancy has helped them to a high ranking among other AHL teams in both shots for and against per game. The Reign average 31.84 shots on net per outing, which is third-most in the league, and they allow just 26 per night, the second-best number of any team defensively. When the Reign have more shots than their opponent, they hold a record of 21-11-2 this year, while still earning a 10-4-0-1 mark from games in which they’ve been out-chanced.

CECCONI’S REIGN DEBUT: After being acquired by the LA Kings in a trade with the Minnesota Wild last Wednesday, defenseman Joseph Cecconi made his debut for Ontario in Colorado on Friday night, recording one shot on goal and finishing with an even rating. The 27-year-old skated in 51 games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild this season before the trade, recording 14 points on two goals and 12 assists with a plus-5 rating and 41 penalty minutes. Now in his sixth pro season, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound blueliner has accumulated 68 points (10-58=68) in 328 career AHL games with Iowa, Rochester and Texas. Cecconi was originally selected by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft and has suited up in 21 career Calder Cup Playoff games, notching eight points on three goals and five assists with a plus-8 rating. Before turning pro, he played four seasons of collegiate hockey at the University of Michigan, tallying 62 points (9-53=62) and 103 PIM in 147 games with the Wolverines.

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, 5-4 SOW – Full Recap
Wed., Feb. 12 vs. Tucson, 4-1 W – Full Recap
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.