One of the most cherished traditions in non-NHL hockey takes center stage tonight at Toyota Arena, as the Reign host their annual Teddy Bear Toss against the San Jose Barracuda.
Ontario has won its Teddy Bear Toss game in each of the past three seasons. Now, with head coach Andrew Lord experiencing the event for the first time as the team’s new bench boss, he’ll look to keep that streak alive. More importantly, the group will aim to keep the flames up on their current hot streak; having won four of their past five contests.
To earn a victory tonight, Lord and the Reign will have to earn it. With both of their regular goaltenders unavailable — Erik Portillo is injured and Pheonix Copley is up with the Kings — Ontario will once again turn to Isaiah Saville. He’s coming off a shutout in Colorado last weekend, turning aside all 19 shots faced.
Despite an 8-2-0 record over the past 10 games and challenging for first place in the Pacific Division, that was the first time Ontario had blanked another team all season. That’s right. Ontario’s first shutout win of the season didn’t belong to opening-night starter Erik Portillo or veteran Pheonix Copley. It was Isaiah Saville, who was patrolling the crease in Greenville only a month ago.
As for the remainder of Lord’s lineup tonight, he’ll be forced to juggle things after one of his key centers was injured last time out.
If there’s a silver lining to Kings prospect Francesco Pinelli being sidelined, it’s that Lord fortunately has multiple options down the middle. For example, he could slide one of his three first-liners (all centers by trade) down to line two and plug a winger into the lineup.
Another possibility is moving up Aatu Jamsen, who has been playing 4C. It’s unlikely Lord would break up the highly touted third line. Rookie Kenny Connors is tied for fifth in plus/minus at plus-16 (three skaters tied for second) a total that not only places him among the league leaders but also tops all AHL rookies. He’s flanked on the left side by Andre Lee. After scoring a career-high ninth goal earlier this week in Bakersfield, the 25-year-old Swede appears to be entering his prime and pushing for a look from the Kings’ front office.
As we reported a few days ago, Jakob Doty is also nearing a return. That could impact how the fourth line is ultimately constructed.
This is shaping up to be a thrilling night, with Toyota Arena nearly at full capacity. Who will deliver the Teddy Bear Toss goal? Only time will tell.
With only five games remaining on Ontario’s 2025 slate, four of them will be against San Jose. They’ll play two this weekend, then meet again next Saturday in NoCal, followed by a New Year’s Eve tilt back in the Inland Empire. In four previous matchups, the Reign hold a 2-2-0 record against the Barracuda thus far. After the Dec. 31 game, they won’t see each other again this season — unless they meet up in a rematch of last year’s playoff matchup.
Reign Projected Lineup vs. Barracuda
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Alexandrov – Gawdin – Guttman
Chromiak – Jamsen – Ward
Lee – Connors – Wright
Isogai – Hughes – Ziemmer
Hicketts – Kirsanov
Booth – Burroughs
Dvorak – Bolduc
Saville (starter)
Sholl
Likely scratches: (F) Brown, Doty and (D) Millar, Salin
Injured: Lawrence (month-to-month), Parker-Jones, Pinelli, Portillo
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time and will be streamed via FloSports. Additionally, a Reign radio feed is available here.
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