Yes, the Reign train is not only rolling but picking up steam.
With a 6-4 victory over San Jose a few days ago, Ontario moved into a tie for first place in the Pacific Division (63 points). However, they are technically a smidge ahead due to having played two fewer games than Calgary. After racking up points in seven straight games — including six wins over that stretch — Ontario also now has the fifth-best points percentage (.670) in the entire league. Not to mention, they’re also the only team in the league to have already reached the 30-win mark.
On Wednesday, goaltender Phoenix Copley made 32 saves on 36 shots for a reasonable performance in net. After jumping out to a 6-1 lead through 40 minutes, San Jose made a late push in the third period to bring the final score much closer. It was another penalty ridden game for both teams too, with 12 infractions assessed in total. Ontario capitalized three times on the man advantage out of their six opportunities, including a game-opening goal from Martin Chromiak just 3:12 into the first period. Kings prospect Aatu Jamsen added two goals in the game, his first multi-goal game since coming over from Europe last summer.
Regarding the lineup for tonight, we’ll assume Sammy Fagemo will draw back in tonight, as he skated in a regular-colored jersey during yesterday’s practice. What type of trickledown effect that has on the other lines remains to be seen. Could Andre Lee finally be reunited with Sammy Helenius?
Meanwhile, the Barracuda are still looking for consistency. Since the start of the month, they’ve only managed two wins and will need a strong effort to avoid another loss to their division rivals. Among their key players to watch would be forward Andrew Poturalski, who recorded his team leading 20th goal of the campaign last time out.
REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. BARRACUDA
Malott – Gawdin – Fagemo
Hudon – Studnicka – Ward
Lee – Helenius – Chromiak
Madden – Pinelli – Jamsen
Hicketts – Millar
Booth – Rowe
Dvorak – Walsh
Copley
McKay
Other roster options include: (F) Element, Doty, and (D) Krebs, Krygier, and (G) Portillo
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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