The AHL’s greatest rivalry is back, as the Reign and Gulls are set to begin their six-game season series on Saturday night in San Diego. Despite a myriad of roster changes, these two clubs continue to not like each other, and the games are almost always a spirited affair.
Early Saturday morning came word that goaltender Erik Portillo has rejoined Ontario and will get the start in net tonight. Due to scheduling and the fact he’s been up with the Kings for a bit while Darcy Kuemper is sidelined, Portillo hasn’t played since picking up a win vs. Tucson back on Nov. 13 at Toyota Arena. He’s holding a 3-2-0 record on the season, yet his .891 save percentage is more of a storyline to follow. Coming off a stellar rookie season in 2023-24, the 6-foot-6 netminder hasn’t quite found his rhythm just yet this time around. Starting in San Diego will be nothing new for him, though. Last season, three of his four games against the Gulls came on the road.
Portillo has also had a new mask ready to go for a few weeks. We’ll have to see if that finally makes its debut now that the big Swede is returning to action.
In other roster news, coach Marco Sturm may have found just the solution for a team who lost Sammy Helenius to the NHL recently. Enter first-year pro Kaleb Lawrence; and what a turnaround it’s been. He started the season not being able to get into the Reign lineup due to an excess of forwards. Now, he’s played four straight, scored in two of them, and is earning praise from the coaching staff — all en route to three wins in those four games.
Former Gulls forward Glenn Gawdin signed with the Reign over the summer and he appears to be heating up at just the right time. With a goal and two assists last time out, Sturm’s top line center now has 16 points (7G, 9A) over nine games in November.
Overall, the Reign have been a .500 club through their first 14 games, including an even 3-3-0 on the road.
REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. GULLS
Should Sturm opt to make any key changes during pregame warm-ups, this article will be updated.
Hudon – Gawdin – Malott
Chromiak – Studnicka – Fagemo
Lee – Pinelli – Madden
Element – Lawrence – Ward
Hicketts – Millar
Booth – Rowe
Dvorak – Walsh
Portillo (starter)
Ingham
Other roster options include: (F) Doty, Jamsen (D) Krygier
Injured: (D) Parker-Jones
Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 pm Pacific Time and the game can be viewed on FloHockey. An audio only feed is also available on the ESPN LA app.
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