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A four-game winning streak in the regular season is a tough feat. Winning four in a row when the games get harder in the playoffs – well, that’s an accomplishment.
After sweeping Bakersfield in Round 1 of this year’s Calder Cup Playoffs, the Ontario Reign have continued their winning ways and are now on the brink of advancing to Round 3.
Sunday afternoon, they played host to the visiting Abbotsford Canucks and promptly skated away with a 4-0 victory at Toyota Arena. The win also puts them in firm control of their best-of-five series vs. the Canucks, as coach Marco Sturm and squad will now head to British Columbia, where they’ll get up to three tries to close the series out with another victory.
A handful of Kings prospects had quite a showing for the Reign, with goals from Akil Thomas (2), Andre Lee (2), and Tyler Madden (4) all helping rookie netminder Erik Portillo secure his first postseason shutout.
Ontario’s scoring attack began in the first period, and they never really looked back. On the power play, Thomas received a pass from behind the net to put away a patiently skilled deke and beat Abbotsford’s goaltender with the poise of a veteran pro.
Madden helped make it 2-0 minutes later when he completed a heady chip-pass ahead of a streaking Hudon, who scored while alone on net.
The score remained the same through much of the contest until late in the third, and while looking for the insurance marker, Lee stepped into some open ice and found the back of the net with a hard shot from high in the slot.
Madden made his mark again later to finish a multi-point game (1G, 1A) with an empty-net goal.
Now, the Reign look ahead for their third and final win to move on from the second round, and they’ll travel north of the border to play up to three consecutive games in Abbotsford.
There’s no doubt this was a team win, and it’s easy to see all eyes gravitate to the crease where netminder Erik Portillo was in the spotlight with 29 saves. The rookie Swede started all four games of the playoffs and allowed only one goal in each of the first three games until earning the shutout Sunday.
With a total of 103 saves on 106 shots, Portillo is showing a .972 save-percentage and 0.75 goals-against-average. His presence has been a calming factor in the backend while his teammates are playing with a determined defensive structure that has helped bring about the four-game winning streak.
Ontario is averaging 3.75 goals-per-game in the postseason and outscoring their opponents 15-3.
Leading Scorer, Madden: Playing in his fourth professional season, Madden is getting the job done, leading Ontario in goals and scoring with five points (4G, 1A) in four games. He’s been scoring meaningful tallies for his team. Sturm has been waiting for that goal-scoring prowess to return, and Madden is looking comfortable with linemates Thomas and Charles Hudon.
Clarke’s Contributing: Rookie Brandt Clarke seems to be enjoying his first postseason, and while it might sound funny to say, the 21-year-old is having a bit of a breakout of his own. The organization has tasked him to play structurally sound defense along with his usual offensively focused brand of hockey – and it seems to be working. He recorded his first multi-point postseason game and is second on the team in points with four assists. Clarke’s been notable on the ice and in between whistles with no fear in joining (or even starting) scrums in the crease and corners after play.
Plenty of Prospects: Speaking of Clarke, he and Thomas were on the ice for three of the four Reign goals scored. Thomas ended up with the game-winning goal, as he put the team on the board early in the first period.
Don’t Sleep on Lee: The 23-year-old forward finished his collegiate career two seasons ago, played a respectable rookie campaign last year, and then faced a challenging sophomore season that was interrupted a few times with injury. Even so, when Lee slots into the lineup, his 6-foot-5 presence is felt on the ice and on the scoreboard. To round out the regular season, he broke out with 13 points (8G, 5A) in 36 games, and he’s continued his goal-scoring with two goals in four games thus far in the postseason, providing a scoring threat on a towering third line.
The Reign play Game 3 in Abbotsford Wednesday, May 8.
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