The Ontario Reign squared off against the always physical Calgary Wranglers Friday night at Toyota Arena.
Coming into the game, Calgary only sat two points behind Ontario. In between the two teams were the Bakersfield Condors, who were only one point behind the Reign.
There was nothing much going in the opening frame. The Reign had some good opportunities when on the power play, but that was about it.
The Reign power play has been brutal as of late, going 0-3 again today, similar to last game vs Tucson. They are now 1-24 in as many power play opportunities.
Calgary got on the board first, after a controversial cross-checking call, Ben Jones tapped in a backdoor pass from Cole Schwindt while on the man advantage.
Going into the third down by one, bodies were flying all over the ice. Big hits left and right from both teams, you can tell this game meant a little more to these two teams.
Almost halfway into the final period, the Reign finally broke through, thanks to a beautiful cross-crease saucer pass from Brandt Clarke to Tyler Madden, who shot a one timer past the goaltender Oscar Dansk.
It was a very tight contest all the way until the end of regulation, where the SOG stood at 29 a piece.
In overtime, Erik Portillo shut down a breakaway try from Ben Jones, earning himself a huge ovation from the Ontario faithful.
With less than two minutes to go in overtime, Akil Thomas took the puck coast to coast, spun past Cole Schwindt, and off the spin, buried the puck top shelf.
A huge two points for the Reign, as they continue to play really good hockey as of late.
Here are my three takeaways from the game:
That’s Playoff Hockey
This entire homestand, the Reign square off against some very good, playoff teams, where mistakes loom large in the long run of the game.
Reign head coach Marco Sturm mentioned how he did not like how the team has played the last few games, and how this game was “totally different:.
With the playoffs coming soon, it is good to see the Reign look like a complete team. Even though you would like to see the power play be more prolific, the 5 on 5 has looked a lot better as of late.
Samuel Fagemo Injury
At the start of the third period, Samuel Fagemo did not appear to be on the Reign bench.
You always hope any injury is not serious, especially for someone like Fagemo, who leads the league in goals scored.
Not too sure how concerning the injury is, but losing the star forward for the playoffs would certainly be detrimental for the Reign.
Goal Of The Year
What is not to say about Akil Thomas’ overtime winner. It was the loudest I have heard the arena all season.
Everybody went crazy, from the fans to the coaches to the Reign bench. It was spectacular.
When asked about Thomas’ impact this season, Sturm had this to say, “two games ago with Hudon out and some other guys playing a lot of minutes, I told him to take charge. That’s exactly what he did.”
With the goal going viral around X (formerly known as twitter), lots of Kings fans are hoping Thomas will be with the Kings next season, filling some bottom six holes they have had all season.
The Bakersfield Condors come into Ontario Sunday afternoon, as they sit one point behind the Reign for the 4th place spot in the division.