A quick weekend series between the Reign and Gulls wraps up tonight, as the fierce Pacific Division rivals will meet up for the second consecutive evening. After Ontario suffered a 6-4 defeat in San Diego on Friday, they’ll now be looking for a little revenge on home ice at Toyota Arena.
Last night likely brought plenty of frustration for coach Andrew Lord and his squad. It was a game where Ontario’s offense showed signs of life, but one too many miscues proved costly. For the ‘glass half full’ brigade, there were still plenty of positives to take away — especially from a few Kings prospects. For example, forward Martin Chromiak factored into all four Ontario goals, scoring twice and adding assists on the other two.
Additionally, UMass-Amherst product Kenny Connors added his second professional goal Friday night, ripping a beautiful wrist shot from the high slot to bring Ontario back within striking distance midway through the third period.
Unfortunately, Pheonix Copley has struggled of late for the Reign, allowing 16 goals in his last three games. Tonight, he’ll give way to Erik Portillo, who has been the exact opposite — posting six straight games allowing two or fewer goals, and is coming off back-to-back one-goal efforts.
Lord may look to get NHL hopeful Jakub Dvorak back into the lineup tonight, as well. The big 6-foot-5 rearguard sat out last night. Although Ontario is dealing with a fairly crowded blueline to start the season, Dvorak has played the majority of games and has actually looked pretty good when paired with fellow Kings draft pick Kirill Kirsanov.
Nearly every Reign game is on the road this month, so tonight brings a rare contest in front of the Inland Empire faithful. Overall, Ontario is 6-4-1 on the year, with five of their wins coming in regulation.
What You May Have Missed
Kings Of The Podcast, Ep. 235 with Andrew Lord, New Reign Head Coach LINK
Reign Projected Lineup vs. Gulls
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Ward – Thomas – Chromiak
Lew – Gawdin – Guttman
Pinelli – Connors – Wright
Jamsen – Hughes – Ziemmer
Hicketts – Millar
Kirsanov – Burroughs
Dvorak – Salin
Portillo
Copley
Likely scratches: (F) Doty, Isogai and (D) Bolduc, Booth
Injured: Brown, Lawrence (month-to-month), Parker-Jones
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and will be streamed via FloSports. Additionally, a Reign radio feed is available here.
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