It’s been said that revenge is a dish best served cold.
As if hockey isn’t cold enough on the ice, it was sub 30 degrees in British Columbia yesterday — so the weather was cooperating with the latter part of that expression.
For their part, the Ontario Reign handled the rest. They blew into Abbotsford late last month looking to play a quick two-game set before shutting down for the Christmas break. They proceeded to get their teeth kicked in 5-2 the first night. Coach Marco Sturm tried showing some support for his rookie goaltender by giving him another start the next night. After giving up five goals in less than 30 minutes, the novel idea had quickly vanished.
Yesterday, Sturm and the Reign likely had revenge on their minds when they rolled back into town with a bit of swagger, having gone 4-1 in 2024 and coming off one of their best performances of the season just two nights earlier in Calgary.
Oh, and Kings prospect Alex Turcotte was set to rejoin the lineup.
How did it go?
Portillo made 33 saves, including locking things down in the third period, where the Reign were outshot 15-7.
Andre Lee opened the scoring and later added another one while Ontario was shorthanded.
Akil Thomas extended his points streak to six games.
And Turcotte? He scored the game winner. No biggie.
For their second act, Sturm’s lineup is expected to look slightly different.
Sammy Fagemo, who was called up to the NHL on an emergency recall, has already been “returned” to the Reign. However, he will not play tonight and we believe will instead be recalled by the Kings again before Thursday’s morning skate in Los Angeles. This, of course, was all a domino effect of Blake Lizotte suffering a lower body injury that will sideline him until February.
On Tuesday, Turcotte took over for Thomas as the second line center, while the latter moved down to 3C. That configuration is likely to stick again tonight. Already thin with the number of extra forwards available, Sturm will likely need to push Ryan Francis back into action vs. the Canucks. Forward Jacob Doty was injured midway through last night’s contest and will not suit up tonight. His status is hoped to be short-term.
Going with an 11-7 configuration is also a possibility, especially considering the handful of healthy defensemen the Reign are presently carrying. Cole Krygier and Max Martin have both played recently; either (or both) could step in, if needed.
In goal, Jacob Ingham is expected to get the start. He’s currently holding a .941 save percentage and has won all three of his AHL starts since being recalled from ECHL Greenville (where he was also leading the league with an 11-2-0 record).
REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. CANUCKS
Hudon – Tynan – Chromiak
Ward – Turcotte – Madden
Lee – Thomas – Hodgson
Pinelli – Helenius – Francis
Moverare – Haiskanen
Connauton – Santini
Nousiainen – Wylie
Ingham (starter)
Portillo
Other roster options include: (F) N/A and (D) Inamoto, Krygier, Martin
Injured: Doty, Hicketts (undisclosed)
Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm Pacific Time and the game can be viewed on AHL TV.
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Game day graphic via ALoImages
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