Ontario Reign: Three takeaways from 5-1 win at Tucson

Goal Breakdown

First period:

ONT: PP Martin Chromiak (9), ASST: Charles Hudon (16), Akil Thomas (14)

Second period:

TUC: Nathan Smith (4), ASST: Lleyton Moore (1), Peter DiLiberatore (5)

ONT: Akil Thomas (14), ASST: Alex Turcotte (16), Taylor Ward (11)

ONT: Martin Chromiak (10), ASST: Charles Hudon (17), Kevin Connauton (4)

Third period:

ONT: PP Martin Chromiak (11), ASST: Charles Hudon (18), TJ Tynan (28)

ONT: PP Charles Hudon (14), ASST: Akil Thomas (15), Martin Chromiak (9)

Stats

Goals:

ONT: 5

TUC: 1

Shots:

ONT: 27

TUC: 42

Power plays: 

ONT: 3/7

TUC: 0/3

Here are the three takeaways from Friday’s 5-1 road victory:

Special teams bounce back

After getting crushed in the special teams department on Sunday in their 6-2 loss to Bakersfield at home, the Ontario Reign bounced back in that department. After going 0-for-4 on the power play on Sunday, the Reign recorded three power-play goals, two that came off the stick of Martin Chromiak (more on him later). With Jacob Moverare hurt for the time being and no update on when he’ll be back, head coach Marco Sturm opted to go with five forwards on the power play again. Unlike Sunday, the move paid off. A week’s worth of practice seemed to help.

After the penalty kill allowed four power-play goals on six attempts on Sunday, the Reign killed off all three Roadrunner power plays. There’s been a big difference in the Reign’s play on the road when compared to their play at home. If you look at the special teams, it’s glaring. At home, the power play is ranked 16th, and the penalty kill is ranked 29th. Compare it to when they’re on the road, and it’s ranked third (power play) and first (penalty kill), respectively.

Portillo shines

Although the Reign struck first on the power play 2:11 into the contest, they didn’t come out with good energy. After the power-play goal, Tucson turned up the pressure and hemmed the Reign in their end. Erik Portillo had to be ready for anything and everything. The Roadrunners outshot the Reign 15-4 in the opening frame and 19-5 at the point of Nathan Smith’s goal for Tucson.

While there were a few instances of rebound control, like the goal he gave up to Smith, Portillo was easily the Reign’s best player early in the game. He made key saves in key moments to keep the Reign ahead or the game tied before they ultimately pulled away. If he wasn’t on his game early, we’re probably talking about a different outcome. His 41 saves earned him the second star of the game.

Chromiak breaks through

Martin Chromiak had been quiet the last three weeks. In the last 11 games, he didn’t record a goal. He broke out in a big way on Friday night by recording his second career AHL hat trick, and two of his goals came on the power play. Chromiak is one of the few prospects in the Kings’ organization that has a shot as lethal as his. However, there were times he didn’t look to shoot the puck during his 11-game goal drought.

In the last four games, we started to see him focus on shooting the puck more, and he got rewarded last night. He led the Reign with three goals, four points, six shots on goal, and even hit the post twice. That is what we need to see Chromiak do more of. Shoot the puck! Can this be the start of a hot streak for him?

NOTES:

*Erik Portillo’s 41 saves improved his save percentage to .923. Among qualified goalies, that’s fourth, and among all qualified rookie goalies, that’s third in the AHL.

*Charles Hudon’s three primary assists gave him 11 on the year. That’s third on the team in primary assists.

*With the assist on Akil Thomas’ goal, Alex Turcotte now has 23 points in 28 games. That’s sixth on the team.

*Martin Chromiak broke his 11-game goal drought with his second career AHL hat trick. His four-point night was also a career-high in the AHL.

*Akil Thomas’ three points gave him 29 points on the year. That’s a career-high in the AHL.

UP NEXT: These two teams meet again tonight. The puck drops at 6 PM and can be seen on AHLTV for free. With the AHL celebrating 50,000 regular season games, every game is free on AHLTV tonight.