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The Reign were welcomed home with a timely gift of highly skilled and incredibly mobile defenseman Jordan Spence before taking the ice against the visiting Canucks. On loan from the Los Angeles Kings and making his season’s AHL debut, the young blueliner joined Ontario and familiar linemate Jacob Moverare in their pursuit of Abbotsford in the standings.
After a well-played first period of back-and-forth play, the home team struck early in the middle frame when the second line of Akil Thomas, Charles Hudon, and Tyler Madden pressured the Canucks into a turnover deep in the Abbotsford zone for Madden’s 11th goal of the season. This would stand as the Reign’s sole conversion of the game.
Rookie goaltender Erik Portillo and his new-look defense held away any offensive that the visitors mounted and shut them down until the final minutes of play – and that’s when things turned.
After a routine Portillo save, a multi-player scrum ensued around the goal-mouth after some extra stabs at the covered puck in the crease. A pair of penalties pushed the game into 4-on-4 action with 3:44 remaining.
Seizing an opportunity to tie the game and find an advantage, Abbotsford pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with about one minute left in the penalties. Shorthanded against the 5-on-4 advantage, Ontario faced a shot from the top circle that trickled slowly through Portillo and inched its way to the goal line when Moverare lunged to save the goal. He swiped at the puck bringing it out of harm’s way, only to have it ricochet off his tender’s backside and into the net.
The unfortunate bounce would negate another stellar performance by Portillo, who was on his way to a shutout, and force overtime. After a scoreless extra inning, it was off to the shootout, where Abbotsford went two-for-four and Ontario had a gorgeous goal from Madden and three misses (by Samuel Fagemo, Thomas, and Hudon) for the loss.
The heartbreaking defeat marks the second consecutive shootout loss at home for the Reign, and moves the Canucks three points ahead of Ontario in the standings with a game in hand.
The Reign face-off Friday against the visiting Coachella Valley Firebirds who sit second in the Pacific Division standings.
The King Returns: On loan from Los Angeles, Spence debuted with two shots on goal and an even rating. The third-year pro manned the point on the first power play unit and was paired with Moverare at even strength. The two youngsters were teammates together in five games for the Kings in mid-December this season. Spence has 87 points (8G,79A) in 103 games played in the AHL and was notably impactful in the game.
Tyler Madden: The 24-year-old Kings prospect is quietly putting a small run together. Consistency has been a bit of a challenge at times in his fourth professional season; however, with a goal in this one, Madden now has four points (3G,1A) in the past four games and getting an opportunity with Ontario’s top-end talents like Thomas and Hudon.
The Erik Portillo Fan Club: The young Swede goaltender continues to turn heads as he contributes to his first professional season by climbing the charts. Among all rookie goalies, the lumbering tender is now tied for third in the league in games played (25), fifth in goals against average (2.47), and third for save percentage (.920).
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