On a certain level, nothing is as it seems right now on the Reign Train.
This weekend brings a home-and-home rematch with Coachella Valley. While it’s easy to think that most players and coaches are thinking about possible playoff revenge for being ousted by the Firebirds last year, many of the key players for Ontario are gone.
And coming off of two consecutive games where they scored eight goals in each contest, the Reign may look like an offensive dynamo — however, look at the competition. With all apologies to Henderson and Abbotsford, they’ve combined for a total of seven wins in 20 tries. Winning their last three games was important for an otherwise struggling Reign team, yet the real test begins now vs. a Firebirds team who have been the class of the Western Conference each of the past two seasons.
Sitting just hours before game time, the lineup is still a bit of a question mark for coach Marco Sturm. He could face the possibility of losing a key forward via to a recall to the NHL; all based on the outcome of a hearing involving Tanner Jeannot. See here for more details:
Absent that information at the moment, Sturm did appear to tip his hand a bit at the team’s morning skate earlier today in El Segundo. Indications are Kings prospect Jakub Dvorak will be one of two defensemen to sit out tonight after playing on Wednesday vs. the Silver Knights.
At forward, Aatu Jamsen would normally be considered a player to rotate in, as Sturm has been playing him roughly every other game. With the team’s recent offensive outburst, it’s unclear if he’ll follow that path vs. the Firebirds.
In a bit of irony, should Helenius be the one to get recalled, his most obvious replacement in the Reign lineup would have been rookie Kaleb Lawerence. Another of the Kings hulking prospects at forward, Lawrence was just sent to ECHL Greenville yesterday to get some playing time. He had yet to make his pro debut with the Reign this season. Last year, Lawrence and the London Knights made it all the way to the Memorial Cup. Originally drafted by the Kings in 2022, the 6-foot-6 forward was a force to be reckoned with during the 2024 Rookie Faceoff tournament and throughout camp.
After taking four of eight matchups with the Firebirds during the 2023-24 regular season, the Reign dropped their only meeting thus far this year by a score of 5-2 a few weeks ago. Erik Portillo was only in net for two of those games last season, giving up three goals in each and earning a 1-1 record. He’s expected to get the start tonight in what will be his first time seeing the Firebirds since last May’s Calder Cup playoff series.
REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. FIREBIRDS
Should Sturm opt to make any key changes during pregame warm-ups, this article will be updated.
Hudon – Gawdin – Malott
Madden – Studnicka – Fagemo
Ward – Pinelli – Chromiak
Element – Helenius – Doty *
* subject to change pending the Jeannot hearing
Moverare – Rowe
Booth – Hicketts
Krygier – Walsh
Portillo (starter)
Copley
Other roster options include: (F) Jamsen (D) Dvorak, Millar, Parker-Jones
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and the game can be viewed on KCAL+, as well as on FloHockey. An audio only feed is also available on the ESPN LA app.
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