Saturday night had plenty of highlights for the Ontario Reign — including two goals from Andre Lee and the annual Teddy Bear Toss from fans — yet the end result wasn’t in their favor.
On the heels of a 4-3 shootout loss to the visiting San Jose Barracuda, the same two teams will rematch later this afternoon, just 18 hours removed from seeing each other at Toyota Arena.
The formula is straightforward for Ontario — limit the penalties and don’t hand the AHL’s third-best power play eight chances on the man advantage again. Despite a parade to the penalty box on Saturday, Ontario still put together a strong performance, posting 31 shots on goal (in contrast to San Jose’s 21).
Trailing 1-0 early in the first, Martin Chromiak ignited the Teddy Bear Toss with his 11th goal of the season. The play was set up by a shot from Lee, who delivered another strong game — something he’s done all season.
Later in the first, moments after Cole Guttman was issued a game misconduct, Lee struck shorthanded to put Ontario ahead. Unfortunately, the Reign found themselves down a goal later in the contest. But with 43 seconds remaining in regulation and the net empty, Lee delivered again, pouncing on a rebound and burying it to tie the game. It was three points for Lee, who continues to prove that he’s knocking on the door of another NHL callup.
Although Ontario fell in a shootout, the point proved crucial, leaving these two teams deadlocked for second place in the Pacific Division.
This afternoon’s matchup will break the tie, and while there is no official word on Ontario’s starting goaltender, it sounded as though head coach Andrew Lord may lean toward Isaiah Saville for a second straight night.
Saville was solid on Saturday, stopping 28 of the 31 shots he faced. Should Lord instead turn to rookie Mattias Sholl, the net would belong to him for his AHL debut. This season, Sholl has appeared in 12 games with Greenville, posting a 2.19 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage.
There will be at least one change up front due to Cole Guttman being suspended earlier today.
We’ll assume Kings prospect Kohen Ziemmer gets elevated off the fourth line. However, that has not been confirmed.
Jacob Doty is getting close to a return, yet it isn’t expected today. On defense, Otto Salin could potentially return to the lineup after sitting out the past two contests.
Regardless of how the lineup shakes out, Lee knows what’s needed in the rematch.
“Both teams have good depth; both teams really want to win,” he said. “They [tend to] get the best of us, dragging us into stuff, taking unnecessary penalties and stuff like that. We have to be more disciplined.”
On the fact they’ll play each other three more times before the calendar turns to 2026, Lee had a simple message.
“When we play these guys it’s always intense,” he stated. “These next three games will be [playoff-like] games, but with less penalties. The games against these guys are competitive, but it’s also fun. These are the games we want to play.”
Reign Projected Lineup vs. Barracuda
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Ward – Alexandrov – Chromiak
Ziemmer – Gawdin – Jamsen
Lee – Connors – Wright
Isogai – Hughes – Mastrodonato
Hicketts – Kirsanov
Booth – Burroughs
Dvorak – Bolduc
Saville (starter)
Sholl
Likely scratches: (F) Brown, Doty and (D) Millar, Salin
Injured: Lawrence (month-to-month), Parker-Jones, Pinelli, Portillo
Suspended: Guttman
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time and will be streamed via FloSports. Additionally, a Reign radio feed is available here.
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