Opening night in the Inland Empire didn’t end as planned for Andrew Lord’s Ontario Reign, who dropped a 5-4 overtime heartbreaker to the Tucson Roadrunners.
While several young players began their first full American Hockey League season, it was those with experience who made the biggest impact.
After conceding a goal just 35 seconds into the game, Andre Lee evened the score with a one-timer that immediately sparked a tilt between Jacob Doty and Montana Onyebuchi. Kings prospect Franky Pinelli added to the momentum less than two minutes later, finding the back of the net to give Ontario its first lead.
Fellow LA draft pick, Aatu Jamsen, continued the offensive surge midway through the second period, breaking a 2–2 tie with a sharp finish to open his season in style. Later, in the final frame of regulation, AHL human highlight reel Akil Thomas showcased his trademark skill, dancing around a defender before slipping a slick backhand shot past former Reign netminder Matthew Villalta, once again putting Ontario in front.
However, a late Tucson equalizer forced overtime, where the Roadrunners capitalized to steal the victory. Despite a Game 1 loss, Thomas earned first star honors with a goal and an assist, while Pinelli was named third star after also tallying a goal and an assist.
Goaltender Erik Portillo showed some understandable rust in his first meaningful action since suffering a season-ending injury last year, stopping 22 of 27 shots in the loss.
Full game highlights can be viewed here:
Pregame notes and lineups can be found in the article linked below.
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