It’s still very early in the season — so, yes, quite a bit of hockey remains on the schedule — however, several signs are pointing to this being a possible year of redemption for the Ontario Reign.
Nothing comes easy in the AHL’s Pacific Division, where teams get a heavy dose of each other throughout the regular season, both at home and on the road. Recently, Ontario earned a victory over San Diego to even their season series. While not a big deal on the surface, it did make up for their one lone loss since their 2022-23 campaign got underway last month.
The latest stop on the Reign Revenge tour arrived in Colorado on Thursday. After dropping 4-of-6 regular season games to the Eagles last season, they were also eliminated by them in the playoffs for the second straight year.
Goaltender Matt Villalta showed up in a big way for their first matchup this season, posting a 2-0 shutout in the opening contest of their current two-game stint in Colorado. Picking up another win on Saturday would almost surely add some extra confidence to a group that is playing consistently good hockey of late.
Earlier today, we reported some positive news on the possible return of Kings prospect Alex Turcotte to the Reign lineup. In their more immediate future, we’re hearing Ontario get Toby Bjornfot back in the lineup tonight. He left Thursday’s game in the second period and sat out the final frame. Word is, he’s good to go for tonight.
ONTARIO REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. COLORADO EAGLES
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Andersson – Tynan – Quinne
Madden – Thomas – Ward
Dudas – Helenius – Wagner
Lee – Thompson – Doty
Björnfot – Spence
Moverare – Grans
Bisson – Gaunce
Copley
Villalta
Game scratches: Allard, Fagemo, Nousiainen
Injury / Illness: Chromiak
Unavailable: Turcotte (see below for further update)
Puck drop is scheduled for 6pm PST tonight and the game can be viewed on AHL TV.
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