Things are going pretty well for the Ontario Reign so far this week.
Angus Booth, while only 21 years old — and arguably the team’s best defenseman last season — returned to the lineup on Tuesday night and had an immediate impact. He simply has a calming influence that can’t be overstated.
And, sure, the play of one guy doesn’t define a whole team, yet it’s more than a coincidence to see goaltender Pheonix Copley have his best game in weeks on the night Booth returned. The veteran netminder had given up 16 goals in his three prior starts. With Booth back patrolling the blueline on Tuesday night, Copley allowed just one goal in his best performance of the season thus far.
The other key story in Ontario’s 5-1 defeat of the Wranglers was actually an extension of a theme coach Andrew Lord has already witnessed on multiple occasions thus far this season… and that is, the kids are alright.
Ironically — or maybe symbolically — Kings prospect Koehn Ziemmer, who wears jersey No. 13, scored his first professional goal in Game 13. It was the final goal of the evening and capped off another impressive road game from the Reign.
It was fellow LA hopeful Kenny Connors who opened the scoring just two minutes after the game’s opening faceoff. First-year pro Jared Wright assisted on that one and then added a goal of his own (shorthanded) early in the middle frame to give Ontario a 3-1 lead. Connors returned the favor from before, earning an assist on Wright’s third goal of the season.
With Copley on top of his game, and saving 28-of-29 shots, Lord’s squad cruised to a 5-1 victory. They’ll now reset and do it all over again on Wednesday night vs. the same Wranglers team.
Full game highlights can be viewed here:
Pregame notes and lineups can be found in the article linked below.
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