The Ontario Reign dropped their second straight game Friday night to the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
David Rittich got the start in net, wanting to bounce back from a disappointing performance Tuesday, where he gave up three goals and was pulled after the first period.
It was a physical matchup, with tensions brewing from the hit on Tobias Bjornfot a little less than two weeks ago.
The tone was set very early on, as Samuel Helenius went after Jacob Melanson, the skater who made hit Bjornfot, 2:26 into the game.
Coachella Valley finally scored their first goal of the season vs the Reign 6:28 into the first period. From behind the goal line, Devin Shore slid the puck across the crease that went off of Rittich’s skate and into the net.
Each team had their chances, back and forth. Rittich made a few incredible saves, bailing the team out on multiple occasions. He looked a lot better compared to Tuesday’s game.
Eventually, with just over a minute left in the 2nd period, Shane Wright found the puck in transition, beating Rittich short side to put the Firebirds up two.
The third period was a silent affair, with neither team scoring. Chris Driedger picked up his seventh win, and second shutout of the season.
Here are three takeaways from the defeat:
Offense goes silent, but not bad:
It was the first time the Reign’s offense has been shutout this season. On top of that, ever since the reunion with forward Samuel Fagemo, Ontario’s offense has been nearly unstoppable.
The last time these two teams met up, Fagemo tallied two goals, including one assist in a 6-0 thrashing.
On Friday, the Firebird's defense suffocated Fagemo, allowing him no time or space.
Coachella Valley did a great job keeping Ontario’s power play unit on the outside. The Reign had tons of trouble getting anything going on their four power play chances.
It was not as though the Reign’s offense was particularly bad. The forecheck was decent in this game, as Ontario put up 28 shots on net.
It also does not help that the Reign rang the post three separate times this game. When all is said and done, Chris Driedger did play an incredible game between the pipes.
Rittich Was Better:
David Rittich was a lot more dialed in on Friday compared to Tuesday’s game.
Rittich leads the AHL in shutouts, having two against the Firebirds earlier this season. It took 126 minutes for Coachella Valley to score their first goal against him this season.
There is just something about that Firebird red that Rittich likes. Whatever it is, he seems to see the puck a lot better against them.
Marco Sturm had this to say about the veteran goalie, “We knew he was going to have a good game. He got a bad bounce on the first goal but he kept us in the game for a long time.”
New Rivalry In The Making
This entire contest was a very physical one. It seemed as though every time someone had the puck against the boards, he was going to get smashed into it.
As previously mentioned, this could have a lot to do with the hit Melanson made on Bjornfot earlier this season.
The Reign will take on the Firebirds Saturday night in Coachella Valley, as we might see a lot of the same physicality that we saw Friday night.