REIGN PREVIEW 2/7 – Ontario vs. Bakersfield
WHO: Ontario Reign (30-14-1-1, 62pts, 1st) vs. Bakersfield Condors (25-13-7-0, 57pts, 3rd)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #47/72
WHEN: Saturday, February 7 @ 6:00 Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign look to head into the AHL All-Star break in first place of the Pacific Division as they play game two of a back-to-back and home and home vs. Bakersfield tonight from Toyota Arena.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Ontario enters this evening’s matchup first place in the Pacific Division with 62 points, one more than the Colorado, as the Eagles have three games in hand on the Reign. Bakersfield currently holds the third spot with 57 points, one game in hand on the Reign. The top four teams in the division are separated by just seven points as San Jose has notched 55 points. 30 of 32 AHL teams are in action tonight including nine of the 10 teams in the Pacific. Bakersfield is first in the averaging 3.47 goals for per game while Ontario ranks sixth with a 3.37 average. Both teams are towards the bottom however with shots on goal as the Reign average 26.41 per games, 31st, while Bakersfield is 23rd producing 26.64 per contest.
LAST TIME OUT: Ontario picked up a 4-3 win less than 24 hours ago from Dignity Health Arena. Luke Prokop got the Condors on the board with the first shot on net last evening coming 92 seconds in as he has goals in back-to-back games. Aatu Jämsen tied the game midway through the second period and Cole Guttman gave Ontario the lead late in the frame as the Reign tied a season high with 18 shots in the stanza. Glenn Gawdin increased the lead to 3-1 at the half-way point of the final stanza but Bakersfield’s James Hamblin scored an extra attacker goal with 2:59 remaining pulling the Condors within one. Jared Wright found the empty net with 1:50 remaining making it a 4-2 lead but once again Bakersfield provided an extra attacker tally, this time it was Viljami Marjala with just 44 seconds left but the Reign would hold off the late push to pick up the win.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES: Ontario holds a 4-1-0 record vs. Bakersfield this season including having won the lone contest in Ontario back on Nov. 21 by a final score of 3-2. Jared Wright leads the Reign with three goals in the series, all of which have been game winners, while Martin Chromiak paces the way with four points (2G, 2A)). Bakersfield’s Viljami Marjala has four goals against the Reign while Quinn Hutson has four points (2G, 2A). The Reign have outscored the Condors 14-11 in the series doing most of their damage in the second period scoring seven goals while allowing none. They’ve outshot Bakersfield on average 12.2 to 6.4 in the middle frame through the first five games. Despite both power-plays being near the top of the league the Condors are just 2-for-14 against the Reign while Ontario is 2-for-19. Connor Ungar who is expected to get the start tonight for Bakersfield pick up a 25 save shutout in a 3-0 over Ontario back on Jan. 11 in his lone appearance in the series this year while Pheonix Copley made 20 saves on 21 shots.
BETWEEN TWO PIPES: For Ontario, Erik Portillo and Pheonix Copley have alternated starts over the last 16 games since Portillo returned from injury on Jan. 4 after Portillo picked up the win last night making 18 saves on 21 shots. He suffered his first loss since Oct. 17 allowing five goals on 26 shots Sunday. He had won six straight games since his return from injury which sidelined him from Nov.13-Jan.2, 16 consecutive games, and had won 10 straight decisions. He holds a 12-2-1 mark on the season with a 2.50 goals against average and .907 save percentage. Copley picked up the win on Wednesday making 18 saves on 19 shots as he is 3-2-0 in his last five starts after winning five of his previous six. For Bakersfield, Matt Thomkins suffered the loss last night making 25 saves on 28 shots as he is 3-2-1 in his last six starts with a pair of shutouts. Connor Ungar has two of the last three games making 21 saves on 23 shots in a 3-2 overtime win vs. Calgary on Tuesday while allowing just two goals on 53 shots in a 3-2 win vs. Abbotsford on Saturday. The rookie is 8-1-0 on the season with a 1.76 goals against average and .946 save percentage.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: For Ontario, Glenn Gawdin and Aatu Jämsen each extended their goal streaks last night to two games. Gawdin ranks second among Reign skaters with 36 points (10G, 26A) as he has a point in five of his last seven games (5G, 2A) and in 18 of his last 25 (6G, 16A). Jämsen has 11 points (7G, 4A) in his last 16 games after notching just eight points (4G, 4A) in his first 27 games. For Bakersfield, Viljami Marjala stretched his point streak to four-games (3G, 2A) with a goal last night while James Hamblin has points in four consecutive (3G, 3A) after tallying a goal and an assist last night.