REIGN PREVIEW 12/27 – Ontario at San Jose
WHO: Ontario Reign (16-9-1-1) at San Jose Barracuda (17-9-1-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #28/72
WHEN: Saturday, December 27 @ 6:00 Pacific
WHERE: Tech CU Arena – San Jose, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey – AUDIO: Reign Radio – TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign and San Jose Barracuda square off in the seventh of eight total meetings this season, the fourth of four in San Jose at Tech CU Arena. After winning seven of eight games from Nov. 21 to Dec. 12 the Reign are 1-2-0-1 in their last four contests while the Barracuda have won four of their last five games.

HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES: The Reign are 2-3-0-1 vs. the Barracuda this season including 1-2-0 in San Jose. The Barracuda defeated the Reign in a pair of games before the holiday break, 4-3 in a shootout last Saturday and 6-3 Sunday at Toyota Arena. Ontario has been outscored 20-19 in the series as they’ve scored three goals in three straight contests while San Jose has produced 14 goals in the last three games vs. Ontario. The team that has scored first in each game has gone onto win the contest. Andre Lee paces the way for Ontario with four goals and two assists while Glenn Gawdin has notched six assists. Martin Chromiak and Taylor Ward each have three goals and an assist while Koehn Ziemmer has tallied four of his eight points this season against the Barracuda with one goal and three assists. Jack Hughes has both of his goals this season against San Jose. Jimmy Huntington and Colin White lead the way for the Barracuda with a goal and four assists against the Reign while four different skaters have two goals. San Jose is 6-for-22 on the power-play having scored a man advantage goal in two straight games while Ontario is 4-for-21 on the power-play, 0-for-6 in the last two meetings. Gabriel Carriere and Jakub Skarek each have two wins in between the crease for San Jose while Erik Portillo has both victories for Ontario.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: For Ontario, Glenn Gawdin has a six-game point streak (3G, 5A) and has 15 points (5G, 10A) in his last 16 games. His 15 assists are tied for ninth in the AHL. Martin Chromiak has three goals in his last three games and has 16 points (8G, 8A) in his last 15 games while his 11 goals on the season are tied for seventh among all league skaters and his five on the power-play are tied for fifth. Andre Lee has three goals and an assist in his last three games and 16 points (8G, 8A) in his last 16 games. He is tied for ninth in the league with 23 points, tied for fifth with five power-play goals, and tied for seventh with 11 goals.

For San Jose, Oliver Wahlstrom is tied for third in the AHL with seven power-play goals and has a three-game point streak (2G, 2A). Quentin Musty is tied for fifth among league rookies with 22 points, tied second with 15 assists, tied for third with five power-play goals, and tied for second with 12 power-play points. He has an assist in three straight games but no goal in seven contests. Lucas Carlsson is tied for first among AHL defensemen with seven goals while his three on the power-play are tied for second. Luca Cagnoni is tied for fifth among league defenders with 19 points, tied for second with three power-play goals, tied for fourth with 11 power-play points, and third with 71 shots.

BETWEEN TWO PIPES: For the Reign, Mattias Sholl made his AHL debut last Sunday making 21 saves on 25 shots in the 6-3 loss vs. San Jose. Isaiah Saville has started three of the last four games with Pheonix Copley still on recall with the LA Kings.

For the Barracuda, Jakub Skarek has won eight of his last nine starts dating back to Nov. 6 having allowed three or fewer goals in all nine games while Gabriel Carriere has won five of his last eight games after making 26 saves on 29 shots in the win vs. Ontario Sunday.

 BOUNCING BACK: The Reign have bounced back quite nicely this season when following a regulation loss posting a 7-1-0-0 record. In fact, they have not lost back-to-back games since Nov.12-15 when they fell in Calgary 3-2 and then in San Jose 4-3.

GET THE FIRST: The first goal has been crucial in the head-to-head series this season with each game going in favor of the team that takes a 1-0 lead. Ontario has scored first in just one of their last five games as they’re 7-8-1-1 when falling behind 1-0 opposed to their 9-1-0-0 record when taking a 1-0 advantage.

MR. 200: Forward Andre Lee is slated to play in his 200th professional game tonight. The Kings seventh round draft pick from 2019 is having a breakout season having already set career highs in goals (11), points (23), and power-play goals (5), while he is three assists shy from a season best. In parts of five seasons with the Reign the Karlstad, Sweden native has collected 67 points (31G, 36A) in 180 games while notching three points (1G, 2A) with the LA Kings last season.

TENSIONS RISING BETWEEN REIGN AND BARRACUDA: It’s safe to say that the Reign and Barracuda don’t like each other. Sunday’s contests featured a combined 71 penalty minutes, the most in a game this season Ontario has played, while their 36 penalty was their most in a game this year. There has been a combined 216 penalty minutes across the first six games of the head-to-head series leading to a combined 43 power-plays. Cole Guttman was assessed a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head last Saturday and will finish his suspension tonight.