REIGN PREVIEW 12/6 – Ontario vs. Calgary
WHO: Ontario Reign (11-7-1-0) vs. Calgary Wranglers (11-8-2-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #19/72
WHEN: Saturday, December 6 @ 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 carry on their five -game homestand hosting the Calgary Wranglers first the first of a back-to-back series in Ontario. The Reign (11-7-1-0, 23pts) sit fourth in the pacific division, two points back of the Wranglers. The Reign are 1-1 against the Wranglers this season picking up a 5-1 win on Nov. 11 in Calgary before falling 3-2 the following night to wrap up the back-to-back series.
END OF A STREAK: Ontario fell 4-1 to Texas on Sunday putting a hault to their three-game win streak and five consecutive victories at Toyota Arena. The Reign have bounced back well this season with a 5-1-0 record when following a regulation loss and 1-0 when coming off an overtime loss. The one-goal score was a rarity for the Reign who are 12th in the AHL averaging 3.26 goals for per game, in fact it was just their second time this season finding the back of the net one or fewer times. Kyle Burroughs was held pointless after having a three-game assist streak with four helpers while Taylor Ward could not lift his goal streak to a season long four games.
TRADE ALET: On Monday the LA Kings traded Akil Thomas to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for forward Nikita Alexandrov. The 25-year-old has skated in 18 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) this season where he was tied for the team lead with 14 points (3-11-14). He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 2019 NHL Draft, second round, 62nd overall, and tallied nine points (3G, 6A) in 51 NHL games with the Blues. The Burgwedel, GER native has accumulated 143 points (61G, 82A) in 188 career AHL games across six seasons splitting time between Springfield (2021-15) and Utica (2020-21). Akil Thomas had spent six years with the LA organizations collecting seven points (4G, 3A) in 32 games with the Kings and 176 points (50G, 56A) in 176 contest with the Reign. This season he was tied for second among Reign skaters with 13 points (4G, 9A) in 19 games after spending the entirety of the season in the NHL a year ago but only appeared in 25 games tallying three points (1G, 2A).
GUTTMAN GOING GOING GOING: Cole Guttman extended his goal streak to three-games on Sunday scoring the lone goal in the 4-1 loss vs. Texas and now has eight points (4-4-8) in his last eight games after registering just three points (1-2-3) in the first 11 games. The 26-year-old spent the last three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks organization where he led the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in points (57), goals (23), and assists (34) in 70 games. He tallied 14 points (8-6-14) in the NHL with the Blackhawks during his tenure and 138 points (60-78-138) in 167 AHL games with the IceHogs. The Northridge, CA native signed a two-year, two-way contract in July with LA.
NEAR PLUS-MINUS PERFECTION: Kings rookie prospects Kenny Connors and Jared Wright have had strong steady presences through the first 19 games of the season. Connors is tied for first among rookies at +13 which is tied for third among all skaters. He has finished a minus in just one game this season but has been pointless in his last three games after a four-game point streak (2-4-6). Wright is third among rookies at +11 which is tied for fifth among all skaters. He has been an even or plus rating in every game and has three goals in his last five games including two game winners.
LAST WEEKEND: Before falling to Texas on Sunday 4-1 the Reign defeated the Henderson Silver Knights 4-3 on Friday. On Friday, Ontario took a 2-0 lead on power-play scores from Andre Lee and Taylor Ward. Henderson stormed back taking a 3-2 advantage with 5:51 left in regulation before Angus Booth tied the game with 2:55 to play and Cole Guttman provided the game winner with 1:57 left in the contest. In the loss on Sunday, Cole Guttman scored for his third straight game in the loss as the Reign’s win streak came to an end at three games while their five-game win streak at Toyota Arena came to a hault. The Reign trailed 1-0 after the first period then Guttman tied the score early into the second period before the Stars struck on the power-play with five seconds left in the middle frame taking a one-goal lead into the third period. Texas stretched the lead to 3-1 at 15:09 of the third period and then followed it up with an empty-net score less than two minutes later.
SCOUTING THE WRANGLERS: The Wranglers hold a (11-8-2-1, 25 points) record, third place in the pacific division, two points ahead of the Reign. This will be Calgary’s third game of the week as they won in Abbotsford 3-2 on Wednesday before falling the next night 2-1 in a shootout playing their eighth straight game on the road. Former Reign forward, Martin Frk, is tied for fourth in the AHL with 22 points (10-12-22) and has 14 points (7-7-14) in his last nine games. While rookie forward Matvei Gridin is tied for third among league rookies with 21 points (8-13-21) while his 21 points are tied for fifth among all skaters. Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov has faced the most shots among all goaltenders, 428, while his 387 saves are second. His 809:15 minutes played are fifth with his seven wins tied for seventh.