Ontario Reign: Three takeaways from 4-2 win against Coachella

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: Andre Lee (3), ASST: None

ONT: Andre Lee (4), ASST: Samuel Helenius (10), Nikita Pavlychev (2)

CV: Jesper Froden (25), ASST: Max McCormick (27), Cameron Hughes (19)

Second period:

ONT: PP Samuel Fagemo (15), ASST: Jordan Spence (31), TJ Tynan (50)

CV: Ty Karte (11), ASST: Carson Twarynski (3), Matt Tennyson (9)

Third period:

ONT: PP Samuel Fagemo (16), ASST: TJ Tynan (51), Jordan Spence (32)

Stats

Goals:

CV: 2

ONT: 4

Shots: 

CV: 22

ONT: 21

Power-plays: 

CV: 0/1

ONT: 2/4

Here are the three takeaways from Friday’s 4-2 win:

Better start

After playing catch-up in their last three games, the Ontario Reign got off to a great start Friday night. Getting off to great starts last season was a success for the Reign, but it has been an issue this season. Having a great start against the Firebirds is critical because they can skate and dictate the pace of play, and falling behind early against them can be a challenge. However, the Reign were the ones who dictated the pace early on in the first period and got two goals in the first 6:06 of the contest. Even though the Firebirds answered quickly when the Reign took a 2-0 and 3-1, they never controlled the game. Playing that way will be important for the Reign moving forward.

Andre Lee and Samuel Fagemo provide the offense

As I just mentioned above, those two goals in a span of 6:06 to start the game came off the stick of Andre Lee. Entering last night’s contest, Lee had only two goals in 32 games. He matched his season total with two goals in the first period. The first goal was great instinct as he picked off a pass in the offensive zone and fired the puck five-hole on the goaltender, Christopher Gibson. The second goal was more of a fortunate bounce as he happened to skate from behind the net to the front and be at the place at the right time to give the Reign a 2-0 lead at that point in the game. That fourth line of Lee, Helenius, and Pavlychev have looked good in their two games together.

Samuel Fagemo had himself a good night on the power play. Both of Fagemo’s goals were one-timers from the left circle. He could have had a hat trick but hit the crossbar five minutes prior to his second goal.

Cal Petersen bounces back

Cal Petersen had a rough game on Wednesday as the Reign fell in overtime to the San Jose Barracuda. The overtime goal given up by Petersen was one he should have made the save and would probably like to have back. Anyway, Marco Sturm tabbed Petersen as the starter for last night’s game. While he didn’t face many high-danger chances, Petersen did make 20 saves on 22 shots and made a few big saves when needed. He is now 2-1-1-0 against the Coachella Valley Firebirds this season.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign are back at it tonight as they travel south to take on the San Diego Gulls. The game starts at 7 pm PT and can be seen on AHLTV.