REIGN PREVIEW 12/9 – Ontario vs. Texas
WHO: Ontario Reign (13-7-1-0) vs. Texas Stars (8-11-2-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #22/72
WHEN: Tuesday, December 9 @ 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 wrap up a five-game homestand tonight hosting central division foe, the Texas Stars, for the second of four total meetings this season. The two clubs will meet for a pair of games down in Texas in January.

OVERTIME HEROICS: The Reign picked up a 2-1 overtime victory on Sunday vs. Calgary as captain Joe Hicketts scored three minutes into the extra session to cap off the two-game series sweep in a back-to-back set vs. Calgary over the weekend. For Hicketts, it was his first overtime goal as a member of the Reign and his third career overtime tally of his professional career.

Ontario has gone to the overtime frame now five times this season having won four straight after falling in the first game of the season to Tucson 5-4 in overtime back on Oct. 10.

Akil Thomas helped the Reign to a 2-1 overtime victory over San Jose on Nov. 4 then two games later Kyle Burroughs called game on Nov. 8 in a 4-3 win over San Diego. Jared Wright has the other overtime tally for the Reign this season which came in Bakersfield on Nov. 22 by a final score of 3-2.

TIGHTLY CONTESTED CONTESTS: 10 of the first 21 games this season for the Reign have been decided by one-goal as they’re 7-2-1 in one-goal decisions now this season.

Ontario has played overtime hockey in two of their last five games with six of their last eight games being decided by one-score dating back to Nov. 12 and eight of their last 12 since Nov. 4.

Collectively, the Reign have been victorious in four straight one-goal games after losing two straight.

DEFENSIVELY SOUND: Not only did Ontario allow just two goals against in the two games vs. Calgary this past weekend but they kept the Wranglers to just 36 combined shots. They outshot Calgary 24-20 in their 6-1 win on Saturday, holding them to just three shots in the middle frame, before outshooting them 27-16 Sunday, holding them to three first period shots.

The Reign are fifth in the AHL allowing just 25.95 shots against per game this season, third in the pacific division, having held their opposition to 20 or fewer shots in four of the last six games.

Pheonix Copley made 19 saves on Saturday and has started five of the last seven games since Erik Portillo left the game in Calgary on Nov. 12 with an injury. The veteran netminder has won three of his last four starts dating back to Nov. 21 having made 90 saves on 99 shots after starting the season with a 2-5-0 record with a 3.84 goals against average and .870 save percentage.

Isaiah Saville made 15 saves in the win on Sunday in just his second start of the season. The Reign contracted goalie is 3-0-0 this season with a 1.35 goals against average and .912 save percentage having only faced 34 shots in his three appearances. Ontario is 8th in the league allowing an average of 2.71 goals against per game this year which ranks second among teams in the pacific division.

HOME COOKIN: The Reign have posted a 3-1-0 record through the first four games of this five-game homestand with their only loss coming to Texas on Nov. 30, 4-1.

Ontario’s eight home victories are tied for third in the AHL as they have won seven of their last eight games at Toyota Arena dating back to Oct. 19.

Collectively, they’re 8-2-1 on home ice this season.

LEE AND GUTTMAN STAY HOT: Forward Andre Lee scored in both games over the weekend and leads the Reign with 17 points while his eight goals are second and his nine assists are tied for third. The Kings seventh round pick back in 2019 has 10 points (5-5-10) in his last 10 games having tallied a point in seven of those 10 contests. Lee leads Ontario with five power-play goals, tied for fourth in the AHL, while he has four-man advantage goals in his last seven games. Heading into the season he had just two power-play goals in 153 career games with the Reign. Ontario is 10-2-1 when Lee records a point this season and 4-1-1 when he finds the back of the net.

Forward Cole Guttman rides a five-game point streak (3-3-6) into tonight’s contests after tallying an assist in both games against the Wranglers. He has 10 points (4-6-10) in his last 10 games after notching three points (1-2-3) in his first 11 games. The Northridge, CA native signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Kings this past July after spending his first professional seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks organization. He led the Rockford IceHogs last season with 57 points, 23 goals, and 34 assists skating in 70 games serving as an alternate captain.

SCOUTING THE STARS: The Stars wrap up a six-game California road trip tonight after falling in San Diego on Sunday by a score of 5-1 putting a halt to their four-game point streak 3-0-0-1. Texas had a slow start to the season which saw them go 0-5-1 in their first six games and 3-7-1 in their first 11 contests. However, over their last 11 games since Nov. 16 they have collected a point in seven games, 5-4-1-1. Texas currently sits in sixth of the central division with a record of 8-11-2-1 and 19 points.

Former Coachella Valley Firebird forward Cameron Hughes leads the club with 16 points (2-14-16) while San Jose native rookie forward Harrison Scott is second with 11 points (4-7-11). Forward Artem Shaline leads the Stars with seven goals and he had a three-point game (2-1-3) in Texas’s victory over Ontario nine days ago.

The Stars have struggled on the offensive side of the puck this season as they’re 29th in goals for averaging 2.41 per game and dead last on the power-play at just 9.2%.