For the third time this season, Ontario coach Marco Sturm has guided his team to a five-game winning streak. And they’ll be looking to keep the Reign Train rolling in Henderson on Wednesday when they take on the Silver Knights for the seventh time this season.
Previous matchups in 2023-24 tell a rather interesting story. Ontario has won both road games by scores of 4-1 and 7-1. Those contests were played in the formerly named Dollar Loan Center. Just yesterday, that building was rebranded as Lee’s Family Forum (named after Lee’s Discount Liquors, the largest liquor store chain in Nevada).
That’s not the interesting part, though.
In the four games played at Toyota Arena, the Silver Knights haven’t looked like the team getting blown out in Henderson. Instead, they’ve taken three of the four games; albeit one via overtime and one in a shootout.
Tonight’s game is back in Henderson, giving Sturm and his squad reason to be optimistic. Adding additional logs to that fire is the expected return of Sammy Fagemo. Out since March 22, he’ll be a welcome addition to the Reign offensive attack, as the 24-year-old Swede has posted 37 goals in 43 games. In something that nearly defies logic, Fagemo still sits one back of the AHL goal scoring lead, despite the fact he’s played 17 fewer games than the guy who has scored 38 goals.
Akil Thomas will miss tonight’s game while he’s up on assignment with the LA Kings. He should be back in the next few days, though.
Three other forwards worth mentioning are Tyler Madden, Franky Pinelli, and Andre Lee.
Madden, now a third-year pro, has points in five straight games, collecting six points (2G, 4A) over that stretch. He was recently promoted to the second line and has been thriving there, despite not always having the same center to play with.
Pinelli, who has played both center and wing this season, has been tasked for filling in for Thomas as the 2C while the latter is on the NHL roster. Funny enough, Thomas was also a fill-in at the spot, only getting the bump up from his usual 3C spot when Alex Turcotte was summoned to the NHL back in early February.
Sturm spoke in-depth about Pinelli here:
And in an update everybody’s been waiting for… after Saturday night’s win, Pinelli noted to Mayor’s Manor that he defeated Akil Thomas in that afternoon’s pregame pool match. As suspect as that may sound after reading the above article, it’s been verified as true. Perhaps that was Thomas’ going away gift to Pinelli, as soon thereafter he was on a plane to Calgary.
In net, rookie Erik Portillo continues to shine. He now has 20 wins on the season and boasts a .924 save percentage. Over his past 12 starts, the 6-foot-6 Swede has amassed a record of 8-2-2 between the pipes. Even so, given Sturm’s rather consistent goalie rotation, we’d expect veteran Aaron Dell back between the pipes tonight.
REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. SILVER KNIGHTS
Chromiak – Tynan – Fagemo
Ward – Pinelli – Madden
Lee – Helenius – Doty
Young – Pavlychev – Hodgson
Hicketts – Clarke
Connauton – Santini
Nousiainen – Wylie
Dell (starter)
Portillo
Other roster options include: (F) Young and (D) Inamoto, Krygier
Injured: Rowe (lower body)
Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm Pacific Time and the game can be viewed on AHL TV.
RELATED CONTENT:
Follow @mayorNHL
Continue reading...
