The Ontario Reign were back at home on Saturday for the first time in two weeks, as they squared off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the fifth time this season.
Erik Portillo was in between the pipes for Ontario, while Cale Morris got the start for Coachella Valley.
Only 31 seconds into the game, Gustav Olofsson was sent to the box for the Firebirds, which led to a Tyler Madden goal, giving the Reign an early 1-0 lead.
A good forecheck from Ontario’s first line resulted in Jacob Moverare, off a rebound, firing the puck past Morris to give the Reign a 2-0 lead with 13:41 still left to go in the opening period.
Coachella Valley answered back with a goal of their own, credited to Cameron Hughes sneaking the puck far side of Portillo, putting the Firebirds back within one.
In the opening minute of the second period, Max McCormick scored an easy tip in due to a beautiful pass from Kole Lind, tying the game at two apiece.
While on the power play early in the third, the Reign left too much space for Shane Wright on the inside, who fired the puck by Portillo, giving the Firebirds their first lead of the game.
The Reign made a great effort in the third to try and tie the game, but with 31 seconds left, Lind put the game to sleep, scoring an empty netter.
Here are my three takeaways from the loss:
Very Even Affair…Again:
Outside of the 6-0 win the Reign had against Coachella Valley in November, these two teams have had some of the more tightly contested games in the AHL.
The shots on goal count favored Ontario this game, despite the the loss. This is a common occurrence, as in four of the five times these two teams have met, the losing team has had a higher shot total.
Ontario had multiple good chances in the game, especially in the third period while they were down. Unfortunately, the puck did not bounce the Reign’s way Saturday night.
Long Road Trip May Have Had An Affect:
It is always hard coming back home after a long road trip. Especially after playing four games north of our nation’s border.
Although the Reign came out firing, letting up four unanswered goals is inexcusable.
There were times in the game where the players looked a little unfocused. A lot of Coachella Valley’s best chances came when they were short handed, which cannot happen.
Nikita Pavlychev Had A Tough Game:
When watching any team sport, it is unfair to put one player on blast for an entire game.
Nikita Pavlychev, though, had three total penalties by himself Saturday night, one of them leading to the go ahead goal scored by Shane Wright.
The Reign will look to bounce back Sunday night against the Bakersfield Condors.