After their most decisive win of the young season on Friday, coach Andrew Lord will lead his Ontario Reign into Sunday’s rematch with the defending Calder Cup Champion Abbotsford Canucks.
Ontario’s new bench boss certainly had his team ready to go Friday, claiming a dominant 5-2 victory and putting a damper on the home team’s pre-game celebration.
For most of that night, it was the Andre Lee and Taylor Ward show. Each tallied two goals, with Ward adding an assist, as the duo powered the Reign to victory.
Pheonix Copley was in net for that one, yet he’s expected to give way today for Erik Portillo. The latter was sharp in his last start, making 26 saves on 28 shots last Sunday against Colorado.
Most of the remaining lineup today should remain the same, with one possible exception. Young prospect Koehn Ziemmer has yet to appear in a game this season, and Sunday could be his day. After appearing in three games with the Reign late last year, the 20-year-old forward may get his opportunity to make an impression.
Additional Pregame Notes
— Reign defenseman Angus Booth is close to a return. He’s been practicing yet isn’t expected to play until Wednesday in Henderson at the earliest. Last year, as a rookie, he was arguably Ontario’s best rearguard, especially defensively. After playing 50 games during the regular season, his absence during the playoffs (injury) was noticeable. Following a good summer of training, he was hopeful of avoiding any sort of a sophomore slump, only to suffer a knee injury early on.
— Unfortunately, big forward Kaleb Lawrence is going to miss a month or two with an injury. Originally a seventh-round draft pick by LA in 2022, the London Knights product has continued to work on his craft at the pro level. Standing 6-foot-6 without skates, he really found his footing in the AHL late last season after splitting time with Ontario and ECHL Greenville earlier in the year.
— Tonight will mark the second contest in a stretch where the Reign will play nine of 11 games away from their home arena.
What You May Have Missed
Kings Of The Podcast, Ep. 235 with Andrew Lord, New Reign Head Coach LINK
LA Kings Prospect Tracker: Week Ending October 19, 2025 LINK
Reign Projected Lineup vs. Canucks
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Ward – Gawdin – Chromiak
Pinelli – Thomas – Guttman
Lee – Connors – Wright
Jamsen – Hughes – Doty
Hicketts – Millar
Dvorak – Bolduc
Kirsanov – Rego
Portillo
Copley
Likely scratches: (F) Ziemmer and (D) Salin
Injured: Brown, Lawrence, Parker-Jones
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 3:00 pm Pacific Time and will be streamed via FloSports. Additionally, a Reign radio feed is available here.
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