The Ontario Reign concluded their homestand against the Abbotsford Canucks Wednesday night at Toyota Arena.
Looking to make it six straight wins, and with these two teams tied in the standings, two points for both teams could potentially loom large at season's end.
Reign killer Sheldon Dries got the scoring started on the first shot of the game. A good release that went underneath the glove of netminder Aaron Dell gave Abbotsford an early 1-0 lead.
It was Dries’ fifth goal in the last six games against the Reign. Some guys love playing against certain teams, and Dries vs the Reign is definitely one of those examples.
Filip Johansson then scored on Abbotsford’s second shot of the game, wristing one short side of Dell, giving the Canucks some insurance.
In the middle frame, the Reign turned the game on its head, starting with Hayden Hodgson scoring a tap in goal, starting with a beautiful setup by Jacob Doty.
Then, on a loose puck out in front, TJ Tynan finds the puck, goes between the legs, and flicks it past Canucks goaltender Nikita Tolopilo to tie the score.
The period was capped off with another Francesco Pinelli goal, his third in four games, giving the Reign its first lead of the night.
Early on in the third period, Arshdeep Bains evened the score for Abbotsford. Backhanding the puck from point blank range past Dell.
With 6:34 left to go in the final frame, nobody other than Samuel Fagemo broke the tie with his signature one timer, his 30th of the season.
An empty net goal by, you guessed it, Samuel Fagemo iced the game. This one was just as special, as this tied him for first in the AHL, tying Adam Gaudette.
The Reign won this game 5-3, giving them two big points in the standings, and are now tied with the Calgary Wranglers for fourth in the division.
Here are my three takeaways from the game.
Fourth Line Is Buzzing
I have given high praise recently about the play of Francesco Pinelli lately. He has really come into his own, and has been noticed by the likes of Marco Sturm.
The others though on this line, Jacob Doty and Hayden Hodgson, have also played well as of late. On both sides of the ice, this line has debatably been the best line the past couple games.
Hayden Hodgson has been explosive, laying big hits and instilling energy into the guys on the bench.
Jacob Doty has been an important piece to this team all season, and when this team went through its deepest struggles, he was injured.
These three forwards have been a big reason why this team is on a six game winning streak, and need to continue playing the way they are going into the playoffs.
Swept The Homestand
One of the talking points before this homestand was how much the Reign struggled while on home ice.
Safe to say Marco Sturm and company are very happy with the results. Sturm had this to say about sweeping the homestand, “It’s very important because we had a tough stretch at home and we wanted to prove, not just to ourselves, but to our fans here in Ontario that we care at home.”
The Reign will need to continue playing well while on the road, as they are tied with Calgary, and only one point behind the Tucson Roadrunners.
Great Adjustments
After being down 2-0 at the end of one, things were not looking good for the rest of the night. The Reign came out in the second more aggressive, laying more hits and putting more shots towards the net.
Even though Ontario laid off a little in the third, they still did not let their guard down. They stayed patient, looked for openings, and got one in the Fagemo goal.
Everything is clicking for this team right now, as they are currently on a six game heater. They head to Calgary for two, another series with big playoff implications.