The Ontario Reign took on the Henderson Silver Knights as they looked to go 3-0 on Wednesday nights.

It was an unusually slow first period for both teams. There were very few chances on either side, and the shot totals favored the Reign 7-5.

Things got going shortly into the middle frame. Starting with Samuel Fagemo shooting a quick wrister that hit goaltender Akira Schmid’s midsection, and the puck trickled into the net.

Later in the second, Kaleb Lawrence would get a tally, finding the loose puck in the crease and backhanding it past Schmid.

Lawrence, who made his AHL debut last week against the Tucson Roadrunners, has been impressive in his tenure with the Reign. He’s got some decent skill for his 6’7 frame.

Brendan Brisson would get Henderson on the board, thanks to a beautiful cross-ice feed from Robert Hagg, making it a 2-1 game.

Shortly after, the Reign would capitalize on a power play chance. A signature Charles Hudon one-time shot gave the Reign insurance.

A tightly contested third period saw Glenn Gawdin scoring an empty net goal to make it 4-1 Reign, and everyone thought that was the dagger.

Except for the Silver Knights, as Jett Jones would soon after score his first goal of the season, followed by another big Henderson chance soon after that.

Eventually, time would tick away, and that was that. 4-2 the final score.

Here are my three takeaways from the game

Business in Sin City

The Silver Knights were 4-9-0 this season and in last place in the Pacific Division going into the game.

The Reign, who were 6-7-0, needed to win this game to improve their record and morale.

One of the worst things that could happen after a solid week is to lose to a team you should not lose to.

Fortunately for Ontario, they went to Henderson, took care of business, and came home with the win.

Gawdin Again

Another night, another three points for Glenn Gawdin.

After a relatively slow start for everyone on the Reign, including Gawdin, he stepped up and took a leadership role on this team.

Ontario lost many of the big pieces that made them successful last season, including guys like TJ Tynan, Akil Thomas, and Alex Turcotte—three essential forwards who shaped the Reign’s identity.

Gawdin has 17 points this season, with nine coming in the last four games, dating back to last Wednesday against the Tucson Roadrunners.

In these nine points, Gawdin has tallied five goals and four assists. Not to mention, he has been great in the faceoff circle as the first-line center.

If he continues to play the way he is playing, the Kings might have another guy to consider for a potential call-up.

Discipline Is Key

The season has been a tale of penalties for the Reign, consistently shooting themselves in the foot regarding infractions.

In this game, Ontario found itself down a man only once, being able to play their game at even strength.

As long as the Reign stays out of the box, they will be in much better positions to win games.

The Ontario Reign heads down to San Diego this coming Saturday night to face the Gulls for the first time this season.