Game recap provided via team press release…
DALY CITY, Calif. – The Ontario Reign (11-5-0-0), defending Pacific Division Champions and proud affiliate of the NHL’s 2012 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings, had their seven-game winning streak stopped short on Friday night by the San Francisco Bulls (7-10-0-2) in a surprising 5-1 defeat.
Starting off, the Reign gave up a power-play goal just seconds after David Starenky got the gate for hooking. Marek Viedensky scored his first goal of the night at 7:48 with helpers from Justin Bowers and Sacha Guimond. At 12:12 CJ Stretch picked up the puck in the neutral zone and skated it in toward Thomas Heemskerk. Stretch’s deke caught Heemskerk off balance and Derek Couture was able to bury the puck into the Bulls net for a power-play goal to extend his point streak to four games. With 3:04 left in the first frame, the Reign trailed again as Alex Tuckerman netted another for the Bulls; Viedensky earned his second point of the night with a matching assist with Peter Sivak.
The Reign’s offense picked up the pace in the second period doubling the Bulls shots on goal 18-9 but they couldn’t get past Heemskerk’s glove. Viedensky scored his second goal for the Bulls about halfway through the second frame putting his team ahead 3-1. Sivak made the most of San Francisco’s second man-advantage of the game earning his third point one minute into their power-play.
Ontario couldn’t bridge the 4-1 gap heading into the final period. They only got four shots on Heemskerk and as their frustration grew, the Reign retreated to more physical play. The Bulls scored their final goal of the game at 8:46 and outshot the Reign 11-4 in the third.
JF Berube faced a season-high 35 shots stopping 30 for the loss. Heemskerk stopped 28 of 29 shots for his sixth win of the season.
The Reign will take the ice again tonight, this time in Bakersfield vs. the Condors. They’ll then return home for three games this week – Wednesday, Friday and next Saturday.
Special thanks to Amy Gist, Jason lockhart and Cole Volmer for assistance with the photos.
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