Beware of those penalties, eventually they’ll cost a team.
Having a good power play in hockey is very helpful. Often, having an even better penalty kill proves to be the difference in a game.
Wednesday night saw the Reign lose a heartbreaker of a game at home. After leading for around 58 minutes, They came from ahead to lose 2-1 in a shootout. However, the real story may have been the penalty kill. Ontario was a perfect 6-for-6 when Abbotsford had the man advantage. An impressive stat, indeed, but one that should also be looked at from the opposite perspective. Coach Marco Sturm likely wasn’t thrilled at seeing his team spend so much of the game with such a heavy emphasis on defense. To win a game, you also need goals. And they just didn’t generate many opportunities.
Turning to tonight, the reigning Western Conference Champions are coming to town. Showing No real sides of slowing down, the Coachella Valley Firebirds also currently lead the Pacific Division.
Despite Ontario having lost seven straight games at Toyota Arena, there is still reason for Sturm and his squad to enter play with some optimism.
They’ve actually played Coachella Valley tight this year. The Reign have three wins in five previous meetings, including two shutouts. However, the road team has won every game in their 2023-24 series.
Sturm will likely have few roster decisions to make for this one, short of maybe tweaking his line combination slightly. He also has several healthy options available on defense, including Kings prospect Kim Nousiainen.
In a somewhat surprising move, rookie goaltender Erik Portillo is not expected to get the nod vs. Coachella Valley. He’s allowed just one goal in each of his last two starts and is holding a .920 save percentage this season. We’re expecting veteran Aaron Dell to start tonight and then Portillo between the pipes tomorrow night in San Diego.
REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. FIREBIRDS
Ward – Tynan – Fagemo
Hudon – Thomas – Madden
Hodgson – Helenius – Chromiak
Pavlychev – Pinelli – Doty
Connauton – Spence
Moverare – Hicketts
Krygier – Santini
Dell (starter)
Portillo
Other roster options include: (F) Young and (D) Inamoto, Nousiainen, Wylie
Injured: Lee (out until March)
Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm Pacific Time and the game can be viewed on AHL TV.
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