Goaltender Cal Petersen had another strong game and Sammy Fagemo helped power the Reign offense, leading to a 4-1 Ontario win over Abbotsford on Friday night. The team has now strung together back-to-back wins after previously dropping ten straight.
The scoreboard was empty for the first 16 minutes of play at Toyota Arena, then the two squads racked up three combined goals in just over a minute of play. Forward Nate Schnarr opened the scoring with his first since joining the Reign, wristing one from the top of the left circle into the left corner of the net after waiting out a Canuck defender looking to block his shot. Eight seconds later, Abbotsford evened the score when Petersen went behind the net to play the puck that was rimmed around the glass; however, the puck hit a stanchion and landed right in front of the net for a tap in goal — an unfortunate bounce for the Reign. It didn’t seem to bother Ontario, though, as Fagemo reinstated the Reign lead.
That play was set up off a great play by Kings prospect Alex Turcotte, who evaded a defender with an escape move then beat three guys with one pass. On the night, as a whole, Turcotte looked good in his second game since returning from an injury, recording points in both contests. Coincidence or not, the Reign have been victorious in both games since Turcotte’s return. Slotting him back in as the second center has helped solidify a lineup that was rather thin due to injury and callups to the NHL.
As for the second period on Friday, it was rather uneventful; including Ontario failing to cash in on three power plays. Yet, they did kill off both penalties against them.
Defenseman Cameron Gaunce kicked off the final frame by recording his first goal of the season, extending Ontario’s lead to a pair of goals. He capped off a beautiful centering feed from Andre Lee, who passed it on his backhand from behind the net. Another opportunity with the man advantage, gave the Reign a chance for more, but they just couldn’t get anything going on the power play. Later, Lee added the final dagger with just under four minutes to play, notching a short-handed, empty net goal to put the game out of reach.
With his performance vs. Abbotsford, Petersen has now had promising play in two straight games, with a 26 save night following a shutout earlier in the week. And this one could have easily marked two straight shutouts if it wasn’t for a weird bounce off the stanchion.
RELATED CONTENT:
Ontario Reign Projected Lineup vs Abbotsford: Gaining Momentum After Big Win
Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please remember to include a link to www.MayorsManor.com
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-522840723937225840-1’); });
All this criticism of Cal Petersen (he doesn’t care, he’s making all that money, it doesn’t matter to him, blah, blah, blah) seems to be subsiding now that he has had a few solid games in a row. I maintain he is a quality goaltender and will be in the Kings NHL camp competing for a job.!!!
Meanwhile Turcotte is my modern day Vilardi. I’m rooting hard for him to make it thru his series of unfortunate injuries. He’s a special talent when healthy just like Gabe has shown now.