As coach Andrew Lord and his Ontario Reign return home to face the visiting Coachella Valley Firebirds later this afternoon, there are a few silver linings to take away after last night’s loss in San Diego.
First and foremost, the group will be skating at Toyota Arena, where they own a 15-4-1-1 record, one of the strongest home marks in the entire league.
Second, Ontario has only dropped back-to-back games twice all season. Those two factors alone should push the odds heavily in their direction.
Add in a 2-0 record vs. the Firebirds thus far in 2025-26 and even more optimism comes to light. However, it’s also worth noting that both of those victories were gritty, hard-fought battles that came anything but easy. Coachella Valley can never be taken lightly.
In the opening game of their season series, the Reign rallied from behind in the third period, capped by rookie Kirill Kirsanov’s game-winning goal with just over five minutes remaining. Ironically, since scoring that goal, Kirsanov had gone 11 straight games without a point before breaking through with two assists last night in San Diego.
Finishing out the thought about Coachella Valley, Lord’s group was outshot 34-17 in their second contest with the Firebirds, but still emerged victorious in overtime.
Circling back to the present, for Ontario to come away with a win this afternoon, they’ll need a much stronger third period than they had last night. The Reign were outshot 19–2 in the final frame of regulation, surrendered two separate leads, and allowed the game-winning goal with just 17 seconds remaining.
Safe to say, it was a heartbreaker. Both teams traded punches all night in a vintage Gulls–Reign battle. It’s the kind of loss that can sometimes linger if you let it.
The loss, coupled with Colorado’s win over Tucson, dropped the Reign to second place in the Pacific Division standings.
Let’s close here with one more positive note, though. Kings prospect Erik Portillo is expected to get the start in net today, and he’s been nothing short of magnificent this season. Since returning from an injury that sidelined him for 16 games, Portillo has rattled off six straight wins. Adding in the four victories prior to getting hurt, and he’s now won 10 consecutive decisions.
Reign Projected Lineup vs. Firebirds
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Lee – Gawdin – Chromiak
Alexandrov – Brown – Guttman
Jamsen – Pinelli – Wright
Ziemmer – Lawrence – Hughes
Hicketts – Salin
Dvorak – Bolduc
Kirsanov – Booth
Copley (starter)
Portillo
Likely scratches: (F) Doty and (D) Rego
Recalled to LA: Connors, Ward
Injured: Burroughs, Millar
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time and will be streamed via FloSports. Additionally, a Reign radio feed is available here.
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