Fresh off a thrilling 4-3 win on Friday night, Reign coach Andrew Lord will attempt to turn his team’s attention toward a rare out-of-division matchup against the Texas Stars on Sunday evening.
Tonight begins a four-game set with the Stars this season, starting with two contests at Toyota Arena before the series shifts to the Lone Star State for the final pair.
Last season, Ontario split the series 2-2-0 with Texas, earning one win at home and another on the road just a few months later. Historically speaking, the Reign hold an 12-6-1 record against the Stars — although there hasn’t been much carryover from year to year in the players involved, given how rarely the two sides actually meet up. That said, Kings prospects Franky Pinelli, Angus Booth, and Aatu Jamsen all found the back of the net against the Stars in 2024-25. All three should be considered legitimate threats to score again in this one, especially given their recent play.
Overall, Ontario is still searching for some consistency in shot volume. They’ve been a low volume team most of the season and were outshot 38-16 last time out. Instead, they relied on a determined performance from Pheonix Copley to get the victory on Friday. The veteran netminder saw action in all four games with the Stars last season, posting a 2-2-0 record with a .915 save percentage. He’s expected to be back between the pipes tonight for Ontario. With five days off on the horizon, he’ll have plenty of time to let his body recover from the pair of starts this weekend.
Martin Chromiak — who tallied three assists against Texas last season — was an unsung hero on Friday, collecting two helpers, bringing his season total to 14 points. After experiencing a scary moment last week in Bakersfield, he showed real toughness by returning without missing any time and making an immediate impact.
Injury Updates
Goaltender Erik Portillo, defenseman Jakub Dvorak, and forward Kaleb Lawrence remain sidelined. As we reported previously, Portillo is said to be improving, although he still isn’t quite ready to return. There isn’t a definitive timeline for his return, yet internal optimism remains high with Portillo expected back in another week or two.
What You May Have Missed
Reign rookie forward Jared Wright stopped by Kings Of The Podcast earlier this week and you don’t want to miss that fun-filled conversation:
Reign Projected Lineup vs. Stars
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Ward – Thomas – Chromiak
Jamsen – Gawdin – Guttman
Lee – Connors – Wright
Brown – Pinelli – Ziemmer
Hicketts – Salin
Booth – Burroughs
Kirsanov – Bolduc
Copley (starter)
Saville
Likely scratches: (F) Hughes, Isogai and (D) Millar
Injured: Doty, Dvorak, Lawrence (month-to-month), Parker-Jones, Portillo
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 5:00 pm Pacific Time and will be streamed via FloSports. Additionally, a Reign radio feed is available here.
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