The Ontario Reign will dance with the defending Calder Cup runner ups Coachella Valley Firebirds in the Pacific Division Finals.
Coachella Valley finished the season with the second most points, trailing only the Hershey Bears, who defeated the Firebirds in the Calder Cup final last season.
The Firebirds are coming off a series win against the Calgary Wranglers, beating them in four games.
Since the Firebirds clinched the number one seed in the Pacific Division, their series versus Calgary was their first of the postseason.
This also means they have home-ice advantage over Ontario in this five-game set.
Here is the Schedule
Wednesday, May 15, Ontario at Coachella Valley (7:00 p.m. Pacific Time)
Friday, May 17, Ontario at Coachella Valley (7:00 p.m. PT)
Sunday, May 19, Coachella Valley at Ontario (7:00 p.m. PT)
Friday, May 24, Coachella Valley at Ontario* (7:00 p.m. PT)
Sunday, May 26, Ontario at Coachella Valley* (3:00 p.m. PT)
*if necessary
As for the Reign, they have run through the playoff competition so far. Winning five of their first five games, sweeping the Bakersfield Condors and Abbotsford Canucks.
Now the Firebirds are not any of those teams. They are by far the best squad the Reign have faced in the playoffs.
Strong forechecking, exceptional speed, and superb five-on-five play are what makes Coachella Valley dangerous.
To add on, these two teams have played each other very tight over the course of the season, with the Reign going 4-3-1.
When it comes to the special teams, the Reign certainly have the edge. Ontario’s power play and penalty kill ranked at the top of the league throughout the regular season.
So far in the playoffs, though, this has not been the case. Their penalty kill continues to be astounding, but their power play has not.
The Reign are a measly 3-for-23 (13%) on the man advantage this postseason, and with the Firebirds being the better five-on-five team, Ontario is going to need to take advantage of their mistakes.
As for goaltending, Erik Portillo has been far and away the best in the playoffs. Portillo leads in every important statistic in the playoffs, and has shown no sign of slowing down.
Chris Dreidger is coming off a 31-save shutout, but struggled a bit during the last series against Calgary, giving up seven goals on 88 shots.
On paper, Coachella Valley is star-studded. Key names like Shane Wright, Max McCormick, and Devin Shore are all guys the Firebirds are relying on if they have hopes of making it past Ontario.
Kole Lind has killed the Reign this season, tallying four goals and four assists in eight games played against Ontario.
For Ontario, Tyler Madden was the Firebirds kryptonite this season, being someone who always plays well against them. He has been hot this postseason, so look for him to do damage.
Samuel Fagemo has five goals, including an overtime winner against the Firebirds this season. He got off to a slow start in this year's playoffs, but was able to score one in game three against Abbotsford.
Fagemo, who placed second in the AHL in goals scored, earning himself second team all AHL, will need to get back to form this series for Ontario. He is my X-factor for this series.
With all this being said, this series may be a toss up. Coachella Valley is just so good, but Ontario has been scorching hot the last four months.
Game one will be so important in this series, and is a must-win game. Can Ontario make it six in a row, or will the Firebirds put out the flames.
The stage is set for an awesome series across the I-10 freeway, my prediction is the Reign will come out on top in five games.