WHO: Ontario Reign (10-6-1-0) vs. Henderson Silver Knights (9-6-1-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #18/72
WHEN: Friday, November 28 @ 7:00 Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena – Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign open a five-game homestand tonight from Toyota Arena hosting the Henderson Silver Knight for the third of eight total meetings this season, the second of four in Ontario.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: The Reign are 0-2-0 against the Silver Knights this season having been outscored 8-2. Carl Lindbom made 18 saves at Toyota Arena on Oct. 17 when Henderson picked up a 2-0 shutout victory with third period goals from Tanner Laczynski and Raphael Lavoie. Ontario’s worse loss of the season came in Henderson on Oct. 29 when Henderson rattled off six unanswered goals in a 6-2 win including three in a span of 2:27 in the opening five minutes of the second period capturing a 4-2 lead. Aatu Jämsen and Jared Wright have the two goals for Ontario while Henderson has received tallies from seven different skaters. The Reign are 0-for-5 on the power-play in the series while the Silver Knights are 1-for-6.
LAST TIME OUT ONTARIO: Jared Wright scored at 2:53 of overtime on his 23rd birthday helping the Reign to a 3-2 come from behind victory on Saturday in Bakersfield after trailing 2-0 after the first period. It was the first victory for Ontario when trailing after the first period this season (1-4-0) as they allowed their fewest shots in a period this season, three in the third frame, while the 15 in the game tied for a season low. Taylor Ward scored on the power-play early in the second period for his team leading ninth goal of the year while Cole Guttman tied the game with a four-on-four score with six minutes left in the middle stanza. Isaiah Saville made 13 saves in his first start of the season while the Reign outshot the Condors 34-15.
LAST TIME OUT HENDERSON: The Silver Knights collected a 5-1 win over Milwaukee on Saturday earning a two-game series split with the Admirals who took Friday’s contest 4-2. Milwaukee grabbed a 1-0 lead early into the first, but Henderson pitted five unanswered goals with two in the first period and three in the third period to complete the come from behind win. Trevor Connelly tied the score on the power-play increasing his point streak to four-games while Jakub Brabenec scored an empty-netter for his first goal of the season. Tanner Laczysnki notched three points (1-2-3) while Jonas Røndbjerg scored a goal and added an assist. Jesper Vikman made 19 saves in the win.
INDIVIDUAL NUGGETS ONTARIO: Kenny Connors leads all AHL rookies with a +13 rating which is third among all skaters as he has a point in four of his last five games (2-4-6). Jared Wright is tied for second among AHL first year skaters with a +11 rating which is tied for fourth among all skaters. He has game winning goals in back-to-back games and four points (3-1-4) in his last five games. Taylor Ward has goals in back-to-back games, the third time this season he has scored in at least two straight games as he is tied for fourth in the league with nine on the season. Akil Thomas has a point in six of his last eight games (2-6-8) while Cole Guttman has five points (2-3-5) in his last six games. Martin Chromiak has a four-game point streak (1-3-4) and is second in the AHL with four power-play goals while Kyle Burroughs has an assist in two straight games.
INDIVIDUAL NUGGETS HENDERSON: Tanner Laczynski is tied for seventh in the AHL with 16 points (5-11-16). He has just four points (1-3-4) in his last six games after tallying 12 (4-8-12) in his first nine contests. Raphael Lavoie is fifth in the AHL with 60 shots and tied for third with four power-play goals. He has a 10-game point streak (4-7-11) and a point in 13 of 14 games but missed both games vs. Milwaukee last weekend. Vegas first round pick in 2024, Trevor Connelly, was assigned to Henderson on Nov. 15 after being removed from non-roster injured reserve and has a point in all four games (2-3-5) with the Silver Knights. Lukas Cormier is tied for third among league defensemen in scoring with 14 points (4-10-14) having recorded a point in four straight games (1-4-5) and a point in nine of his last 11 contests (4-9-11). Lucas Johansen and Jaycob Megna each have two goals in their last three games.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR ONTARIO: After playing 10 of their last 13 games on the road the Reign will play 12 of their next 17 contests from tonight until Jan. 9 on home ice. Ontario is 5-1-1 at Toyota Arena this season having won three straight. The Reign have played four straight one-goal games and six of their last eight games have been determine by one score as they’re 5-2-1 in one-goal games on the season. Offensively speaking, the Reign are 8th in the AHL averaging 3.35 goals per game having scored three or more in 12 of 17 games. Defensively speaking, they’ve kept their opponents to three or fewer goals in 12 of 17 games ranking 12th in goals against at 2.82 per game. Ontario recorded 34 shots last Saturday after being held to under 30 in four straight games while they held Bakersfield to 17 shots on Friday and 15 on Saturday. The Reign have had the second most power-play opportunities in the league but are 20th (13-for-74, 17.6%) having gone (4-for-25) in their last six games. The penalty kill is just 24th in the AHL (40-for-51, 78.4%) but are (18-for-20) over their last seven games.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR HENDERSON: The Silver Knights are just (2-5-0) in their last seven games after a seven-game win streak which lasted from Oct. 17-Nov. 2. Henderson is (4-2-0) on the road this season with their only two road losses coming earlier in the month at Bakersfield who is (6-0-1) at home. The Silver Knights are second in the AHL averaging 3.75 goals for per game and are sixth on the power-play (15-for-57, 26.3%). Henderson is fourth in shots for averaging 31.13 per game and fifth in shots against allowing 26.13 per game. In games determined by two or fewer goals they’re (3-5-1).