REIGN PREVIEW 3/12 – Ontario at Tucson

WHO: Ontario Reign (32-19-3-1) at Tucson Roadrunners (27-24-3-2)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #56
WHEN: Wednesday, March 12 @ 6:30 PM Pacific
WHERE: Tucson Arena – Tucson, AZ
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: ESPN LA App / Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ShafReign & @OntarioReign

TODAY’S MATCHUP: With an opportunity to secure an unblemished record in Arizona this season, the Ontario Reign take on the Tucson Roadrunners for the second consecutive evening on Wednesday night inside Tucson Arena.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ontario enters this evening’s matchup in a third-place tie with Calgary and has the opportunity to move up to second with a victory and a regulation loss by Colorado or Coachella Valley. The top four teams in the Pacific Division are now separated by just two points as the clubs ready themselves for the final month of the 2024-25 regular season. Tucson holds the seventh and final playoff position in the division, and after its loss to the Reign on Tuesday, is now four points back of sixth-place Abbotsford, but also only two points ahead of eighth-place Bakersfield. Ontario averages the third-most shots on goal in the league (32.0) while allowing the second-lowest total per game (26.05). Tucson is just outside the league’s top-10 on the power play, posting a 19.4% conversion rate that ranks 13th best in the AHL after going 0-for-4 on Tuesday.

LAST TIME OUT: Jeff Malott scored two goals and added an assist to help the Ontario Reign to a 4-2 win over the Tucson Roadrunners on Tuesday night at Tucson Arena. Ontario improved to 3-0-0 in Tucson this season and are now 5-1-0 against the Roadrunners overall during 2024-25. Goaltender Pheonix Copley made the start and turned out 23 shots to record the win.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Reign earned wins from their first four meetings with Tucson this season before losing the fifth matchup in Ontario last Wednesday, but they got back in the win column Tuesday night to make it five out of six against the Roadrunners this season. Ontario has held Tucson to just one goal in three of their winning efforts, outscoring them 20-13 overall in the series while outshooting them a combined 202-145. Each team has tallied three power play goals in the series, with the Reign scoring on 11.5% of their opportunities while killing off 88% of the Roadrunners’ man-advantages. After posting three points in Tuesday’s win, Jeff Malott now leads Ontario in this year’s series, scoring eight points on six goals and two assists. Glenn Gawdin also added to his total with a goal on Tuesday and has seven points in the six contests against Tucson with three goals and four helpers, while Charles Hudon has two goals and four assists. 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.

POWERFUL PINELLI: Reign forward Francesco Pinelli assisted on Luke Rowe’s game-winning goal during Tuesday night’s second period, extending his point streak to three games. Pinelli has had assists in three straight contests and got the run started when he scored his second shorthanded goal of the season in Friday’s overtime loss to San Diego. That night, Pinelli also added a primary assist on a power play strike by Samuel Fagemo in the first period. His most recent two helpers came on goals by Rowe, which increased the second-year attacker’s overall scoring total to 25 points this season. Pinelli also has 13 goals during the campaign, tying his output from his rookie year, which he accomplished in 67 appearances. The Stoney Creek, Ontario native hit his stride in December, scoring six goals before tallying just two each in January and February. Pinelli’s multi-point effort on Friday was the seventh time he’s had two points in a game during 2024-25 and the ninth such effort of his pro career, which now includes 121 games and 45 points (26 goals, 19 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 6-3-1 from their last 10 matchups and came into this week’s series after earning a split from an important weekend series in Bakersfield. Forward Kailer Yamamoto leads the team in scoring with 47 points in 46 games this season on 17 goals and 30 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 points (39) and leads the club with 21 goals. Defenders Robbie Russo and Artem Duda lead the blueliners with 28 and 22 points, respectively, with each having scored three times. In net, Jaxson Stauber has split time with former Reign goaltender Matt Villalta, with Stauber earning a recall to Utah this week. Villalta is 14-19-3 from 36 contests with a 2.94 goals-against average, a 0.908 save percentage and three shutouts. The Roadrunners have recalled netminder Dylan Wells from ECHL Allen, who has previously appeared in three AHL contests for them this season.

ROWE POSTS FIRST MULTI-POINT EFFORTS: Reign defender Luke Rowe tallied a goal and an assist on Saturday in San Diego to record the first multi-point night of his professional career. The Succasunna, N.J. native followed that up with another goal and assist on Tuesday in Tucson during Ontario’s 4-2 victory. The rookie blueliner now has three goals this season and four in his 48 career AHL appearances, along with eight assists, to give him 11 points in his career with the Reign. Most impressively, Rowe has accumulated a plus-19 rating from his 43 games played this year, the best number on the team and the ninth highest in the league. Since the beginning of February, Rowe has a plus-8 rating and has been even or better in 14 of his last 15 outings.

OLSON RECORDS FIRST POINT IN SEASON DEBUT: After being recalled from ECHL Greenville on Monday, forward Quinn Olson was inserted into Ontario’s lineup Tuesday night and helped his team to a victory by recording his first AHL point. The Calgary, Alberta native was appearing in the second AHL game of his career after debuting with the Reign late last season before joining the Swamp Rabbits for their postseason. Olson has recorded 19 points with Greenville during the 2024-25 season, scoring six goals and 13 assists in 29 ECHL games as a rookie. The 23-year-old turned pro after completing his collegiate career at Minnesota-Duluth, where he totaled 175 career games in five NCAA seasons, hitting the 20-point mark three times to finish with 96 points on 27 goals and 69 assists. Olson was selected by the Boston Bruins in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft (92nd overall).

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, 1-4 L – Full Recap
Tue., Mar. 11 at Tucson, 4-2 W – Full Recap
Wed., Mar. 12 at Tucson, 6:30 p.m.
Wed., Mar. 26 vs. Tucson, 7 p.m.