Reign Recap: A New Prospect Emerging? Reign Win Rare Matchup With Stars

A rare and exciting matchup between the Ontario Reign and Texas Stars took place Friday night at Toyota Arena.

Only a couple hours after Erik Portillo got his first NHL win, and first star of the game, Phoenix Copley would take the ice for the Reign, looking to make a statement.

Midway through the first period, A smooth rush off a neutral zone faceoff would lead to an Aatu Jamsen finish to put the Reign up first.

A couple minutes later, Samuel Fagemo would shoot the puck from the corner wall, somehow sneaking past Stars goaltender Remi Poirier.

Fagemo called the goal “lucky” saying “Just trying to get the puck to the net. See the rebound or stuff like that.”

It was a weird first period, since the Reign walked out with a 2-0 lead, but didn’t outshoot the Stars, nor did they exactly outplay them.

The second period saw no scoring, despite the Reign having about four grade A chances inside two and a half minutes left to play.

In the third, Ontario came out exactly how they ended the second. A vintage Samuel Fagemo one timer off a pass from Tyler Madden made it 3-0 Reign.

Later in the third, Kaleb Lawrence would tally another goal, his second point of the game, to make it 4-0, which would be the final score.

Copley would pitch a shutout, going 27/27, earning first star of the game just hours after Portillo got first star with the Kings.

Here are my three takeaways from the game

Penalty Kill

The Reign’s penalty kill has been excellent as of late, which is a big part as to why they’ve been a winning hockey team recently.

While taking five of their last six games, the Reign have held their opponents to a measly 1/20 on the power play during that timespan.

Joe Hicketts has been a big part of the penalty killing this season. When you’re the captain, it is important to set an example to the rest of the players on the team.

He has certainly done that, blocking shots left and right, putting his body on the line, and it has resulted in the rest of the team doing the same.

A big reason why Ontario has held their opposition to low scores is because they lay out their body. It seems like everybody has bought into this way of playing.

Fourth Line Fits

What a day the fourth line had on Friday

Kaleb Lawrence with a two point day, including a goal, and is someone who can potentially become a bottom six forward in the NHL.

Standing at 6’7, 229 pounds, this kid can truly skate and handle the puck with decent skill. He is only 21 years old.

Aatu Jamsen got the scoring started in this game, and he has looked good so far this season. Very soft hands and plays a high IQ game.

There was a lot of buzz around Jamsen at training camp this year, so it will be interesting to see how the rest of this season plays out for him.

Big Day For “Brownie”

Adam Brown played for the Reign in its ECHL days during the 14-15 season, and has coached in a lot of different places.

It is currently his second season with the Ontario Reign as the goaltending development coach, and Friday was a big day for him.

Erik Portillo made his NHL debut against the Anaheim Ducks just a few hours before the Reign played, and earned himself the first star of the game in a win.

Then, Pheonix Copley bears down, who must have obviously felt some adversity after seeing a young goalie jump him in the depth chart, and turns in a shutout himself.

Brown has played a huge part in the goaltending successes in the Kings organization, and yesterday he was truly rewarded for it.

Sturm had this to say after the game, “Copley got the first star, [Portillo] first star, and Brown first star too.”