The Reign went to Loveland to start a two-game weekend against the Colorado Eagles on Friday night.
With Erik Portillo getting the call to the Los Angeles Kings, the Reign started Pheonix Copley, who has struggled dramatically this season.
A very rare sequence of events started this game with a bang. With 12:30 left to play in the first period, Neil Shea scored a tap-in goal that was waved off.
The goal was waved off, seemingly because it ricocheted off the back of the net so hard. The referees assumed it hit the iron, so play continued.
Play continued two minutes later and finally stopped after Francesco Pinelli scored a goal, beating the Eagle defenders on the edge with speed and getting the shot through Mandolese's five-hole.
Unfortunately for Pinelli and the Reign, the Eagles would challenge the play since there wasn't a stoppage after the waved-off goal.
The puck went in very clearly, so Pinelli's goal was negated, and instead of being 1-0 Reign, it was 1-0 Eagles, credited to Neil Shea.
21 seconds later, the Reign would be on the man advantage, and 15 seconds into the power play, Reilly Walsh would wrist one from the point past Mandolese, tying the game up.
In the second, Chris Wagner would get the Eagles out in front again, scoring a wrister from the right half wall that Copley lost sight of.
Copley has let up many goals this season that he would like back, and that one was no different.
On the opposite end, towards the end of the period, Kaleb Lawrence tipped in a shot from Joe Hicketts, scoring for the first time in his AHL career.
The third period saw a lot of action, starting with another unconventional Tyler Madden goal. He scored a rebound goal from his knees to give the Reign the lead.
Then, while on the penalty kill, Glenn Gawdin would find himself on a breakaway, scoring his fifth goal of the season, making it 4-2 Reign.
During the third, Ontario was icing the puck at an insane clip, and it hurt them. Off a faceoff in the Reign zone, Jacob MacDonald got a quick shot off, beating Copley on the glove side.
In the final two minutes of the game, the Eagles peppered Copley with shots, and with the Reign hanging by a thread, Samuel Fagemo intercepted a pass and took it to the net, scoring an empty-netter.
It was an intense game that gave the Reign two points, instilled some confidence in Copley, and resulted in an overall great team win.
Here are two takeaways from the game
Big Team Morale Win
Unfortunately for the Reign, they have not had many close games go their way this season.
Ontario's win on Friday night showed resilience, especially after the score flips in the first period.
It was nice to see many guys get on the scoresheet, including Kaleb Lawrence, who has not played much this year and is in for the seemingly hurt Taylor Ward.
Also, the Reign penalty kill this year has been spectacular, and that didn't change this game, going 5-5 when down a man on the ice.
Copley With A Big Game
Pheonix Copley has had a tough season for the Reign. It is not a shocker that Portillo got the call before Copley, even though Copley has NHL experience.
In this game, Copley was excellent, stopping 35 of 38 shots, including some excellent stops late in the third period.
The Reign will play again tonight against the Eagles at Blue Arena, and they are looking to go undefeated this week.