Thus far, the Ontario Reign are finding the 2025-26 season to be a bit odd. After putting up eight goals over their first two games, coach Andrew Lord saw his club shutout Friday night, taking a 2-0 loss on home ice.
Things won’t get any easier when they return to Toyota Arena later this afternoon either, as they’ll be welcoming the reigning Pacific Division champion Colorado Eagles to town. Unlike Ontario, who had last night off, Colorado is coming in to play the second half of a back-to-back after downing Coachella Valley 3-0 Saturday night.
Last time out, Lord mixed up his lines throughout the full 60 minutes, searching for any combination that could jumpstart Ontario’s offense.
“We juggled lines, trying to find some chemistry,” he said. “There’s a lot that goes into it. Style of play, strength and weaknesses of players, etc.”
Fourth line center Jack Hughes made his AHL debut in that contest yet didn’t play much in the third period. However, it appears he’ll be back into the lineup again today, so we’ll have to wait and see when Kings prospect Koehn Ziemmer will get an opportunity to make his season debut. Although he appeared in three Reign games late last season, he’s still in search of his first professional point.
Fellow prospect Kaleb Lawrence, who sat out Friday’s game after getting a little dinged up over opening weekend, is also likely to sit out again tonight.
Lord and the Reign did get some good new recently, though. LA blueline hopeful, Angus Booth — arguably Ontario’s best defenseman last season — has returned to skating following an injury during training camp. Thus far, he’s only been on the ice by himself, but he is expected back at practice this week; suggesting his return could come the following week.
Heading into today’s game, we’re expecting for Lord to once again shake up some of his line combos and d-pairings. What’s listed below is a guestimate. Will need to wait and see how the alignment looks during warmups.
Loof for Erik Portillo to once again get the call in net vs. Colorado. He was steady in goal on Friday night, turning aside 23 of 25 shots faced.
Statistically Speaking
— While Colorado posted 94 points and went on to win the division last season, they had a tough time with Ontario late in the year. Overall, the two clubs split their eight-game season series, but it was the Reign who won the final three matchups.
— Martin Chromiak will be playing his 200th AHL game when he takes the ice vs. the Eagles. A weapon in open ice, especially on the power play, Chromiak and young Aatu Jamsen are the only two Reign players to score on the man advantage thus far this season.
— Ontario and their parent club have shared a similar narrative early on this season. Both teams have limited their offensive attack because their finding themselves in the penalty box far too often. The Reign currently find themselves last in the league, averaging just 21 shots per game. Meanwhile, they’ve already taken 17 penalties, including far too many in the third periods of games.
What You May Have Missed
Kings Prospect Angus Booth Intent on Avoiding Sophomore Slump LINK
Kings Of The Podcast, Ep. 235 with Andrew Lord, New Reign Head Coach LINK
Reign Projected Lineup vs. Eagles
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Pinelli – Gawdin – Chromiak
Jamsen – Guttman – Ward
Lee – Thomas – Wright
Hughes – Connors – Doty
Hicketts – Dvorak
Bolduc – Salin
Kirsanov – Millar
Portillo
Saville
Likely scratches: (F) Lawrence, Ziemmer and (D) Rego
Injured: Berge, Brown, 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.
Follow @mayorNHL
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