For only the third time this season, Andrew Lord’s Ontario Reign will attempt to right the ship after back-to-back losses. Tonight, they’ll look to pick up a victory against the visiting Tucson Roadrunners, who have dropped six of their last eight games.
For what it’s worth, Kings prospect Kenny Connors is back with Ontario and is projected to play tonight, though that news comes with a caveat.
Reign captain Joe Hicketts has been recalled to the NHL on an emergency basis (due to Mikey Anderson having to leave Sunday’s game early), creating something of an eye-for-an-eye situation for Ontario.
This will be just the third time Lord’s squad has squared off against Tucson this season, with their first two meetings coming in the opening days of the 2025-26 campaign.
The Roadrunners struck first with a 5-4 overtime win on opening night, but Ontario evened the season series with a 4-2 win just a couple nights later.
In a moment that now feels like foreshadowing, Andre Lee buried Ontario’s first goal of the season against Tucson. Since returning from his own recent recall to the Kings, Lee has picked up right where he left off, tallying three goals in five games.
For the Reign to get back on track tonight, contributions from Lee and veteran goaltender Pheonix Copley will likely be needed to get the larger group locked in on the task at hand.
In his last outing in San Diego, Copley faced a heavy workload and was hung out to dry, stopping 35-of-39 shots. The fourth goal was a controversial one — a borderline goalie-interference call that could’ve gone either way, but with a goal called on the ice, the decision stood. And Ontario came away empty handed.
Reign Projected Lineup vs. Roadrunners
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Pinelli – Gawdin – Chromiak
Jamsen – Alexandrov – Guttman
Lee – Connors – Wright
Hughes – Lawrence – Doty
Dvorak – Bolduc
Kirsanov – Rego
Booth – Salin
Copley (starter)
Portillo
Likely scratches: (F) Brown, Ziemmer and (D) N/A
Recalled to LA: Hicketts, Ward
Injured: Burroughs, Millar
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time and will be streamed via FloSports. Additionally, a Reign radio feed is available here.
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