For the first time this season, the Ontario Reign took on the Calgary Wranglers in what would be a fun goalie matchup.

Calgary Wranglers netminder Devin Cooley came into the game statistically better than Yaroslav Askarov, who was just recalled by the San Jose Sharks.

As for Erik Portillo, he is statistically the third-best goalie in the Pacific Division, behind the aforementioned Cooley and Askarov.

The first period went as expected, with no goals despite good chances on both sides of the ice.

Cooley went 14-14 in the first period, including three breakaway saves. On the other hand, Portillo went 4-4, with a couple of those being A-plus chances.

Calgary would get on the board first. Sam Morton threw a puck on net from the far left circle that somehow beat Portillo on the far side.

It seemed as though the Reign could not buy a goal. Ontario was putting pressure on the Wranglers during this period, but Cooley was a wall in the crease.

Finally, 18:31 into the second period, a great shift with multiple great looks from the fourth line ended with Ontario scoring, thanks to a beautiful top-shelf shot from Shawn Element.

Another tightly contested third period saw only one tally, and it came from the Reign’s top line.

Jeff Malott made a majestic breakout pass to Hudon on the other side of the ice, who would snipe Cooley on the rush.

It would stay 2-1 until the final buzzer, as the Ontario Reign took down the first-place team in the entire AHL.

Here are my three takeaways from the game

The Reign Are Legit

After a slow start to the season, the future of this team was concerning.

Losing players like Brandt Clarke, Alex Turcotte, and Akil Thomas was a big deal, along with TJ Tynan, who made his way to the Colorado Eagles.

Since starting the season 1-4, the Ontario Reign are 13-4. Coincidentally, Ontario has looked like a completely new team after the calendar flipped to November.

It has been a measuring stick the past couple of games to see where the Reign are as a team, with the second-place Barracuda and first-place Wranglers coming to town.

Ontario has been up to the task, beating both squads in a close but dominating fashion, outshooting San Jose 47-30 Sunday night.

Against Calgary, the Reign outshot them 38-14. So yes, the score does not precisely reflect the type of hockey this team is playing.

Ontario Reign head coach Marco Sturm said about the offensive output after the game, “I’m happy with the way we play offensively. We have so many shots and opportunities. We never really had that in the past couple of years since I’ve been here.”

Despite the offensive output, the Reign have had awful power play numbers this season, especially recently.

While on this four-game win streak, Ontario is 1-12 on the power play and has been much better looking while 5 on 5.

If the Reign can somehow turn around their game while on the man advantage, this team will become unbeatable.

Fourth Line Best Line?

It is a luxury to have a fourth line as good as Ontario’s fourth line has been, with many different players stepping up in that role.

In this game, Jacob Doty made a nice feed to Shawn Element, who continues to stay the hottest “element” of that fourth line.

You have Aatu Jamsen in recent games, who has been such a key player in this line.

You also have Kaleb Lawrence, currently with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. He has been great with the Reign and should not be on the coast for much longer.

Stay Hot

The Reign have won 10 of their last 12 games and are currently riding another four-game win streak. On Friday night, they will face the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Coachella Valley has beaten Ontario recently, winning their last five contests against the Reign, including the playoff sweep in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs.

Ontario needs to ride this win streak, stay confident, and find a way to beat the Firebirds, who will come into this game in third place in the Pacific Division.

After Friday night, both teams will return to Ontario, where they will participate in the highly anticipated Teddy Bear Toss.