
Hudon Ties it Late, Pinelli Wins it in OT
February 15, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release
A late goal in the third period by Charles Hudon forced overtime and Francesco Pinelli found the back of the net during the extra session for the Ontario Reign (28-14-2-1) to cap off a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Calgary Wranglers (29-15-3-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Shawn Element and Jack Studnicka also found the back of the net for Ontario in the victory, while Erik Portillo recorded the win in between the pipes with 17 saves. The Reign moved one point closer to the first-place Wranglers in the Pacific Division standings, remaining three points behind the top spot with three games in hand.
Calgary took control of the game halfway through the opening period when former Reign forward Martin Frk scored at 10:12 to make it 1-0 in favor of the home team.
The teams traded tallies in the second, with each club scoring twice on the other during the middle period. First, the Wranglers extended their lead to 2-0 on a shorthanded goal by David Silye at 3:20.
Ontario made it a one-goal game again just 1:08 later when Element netted his eighth strike of the campaign off a feed by Taylor Ward. Element's shot from the right circle beat netminder Devin Cooley over the right shoulder at 4:28 and had a second assist credited to Angus Booth.
But Calgary responded quickly, pushing their lead back to two goals at 3-1 on Frk's second tally of the contest at 4:54.
The Reign struck on the power play to bring themselves back within one at 8:57 when Studnicka finished a play down low in the offensive end for his 13th of the year. Tyler Madden sent the puck from the right-wing half wall to Andre Lee on the goal line, who tapped it into the slot for Studnicka who quickly finished with a shot under the right arm of Cooley.
Ontario continued to trail 3-2 for most of the third until Jeff Malott was able to rush the puck deep into the Calgary end. After circling the back of the net, Malott left a centering pass to Hudon, who wristed the puck past the glove of Cooley to tie the game with his 17th goal of the season. A second helper on the play was recorded by captain Joe Hicketts.
The game continued into overtime, with the teams even at 3-3 after Hudon's goal.
Pinelli's first career OT winner was the only shot of the extra session, which came off a pass by Martin Chromiak, who stole the puck away from Ilya Solovyov in the Calgary end. Chromiak quickly centered it to Pinelli, who put a fluttering wrist shot past Cooley to put his team in front for good at 1:29 of the 3-on-3 period. The goal was the 12th of the season for the second-year attacker, while Chromiak's helper was his 13th on the year.
It was just the second time Ontario has been outshot during the 2025 portion of their schedule, with the Wranglers holding a slight edge in the category, 20-19.
The Reign, however, had the lone power play goal of the day, going 1-for-3 while Calgary was 0-for-1 on the man-advantage. Cooley suffered the loss in the Calgary crease, stopping 15 shots in a losing effort.
The Reign and Wranglers conclude this week's series in Calgary at the Saddledome on Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. PT.
American Hockey League Stories from February 15, 2025
- Amerks Take Down Comets in Overtime to Reclaim First Place - Rochester Americans
- Iowa Holds off Grand Rapids to Earn 3-2 Pink in the Rink Win - Iowa Wild
- T-Birds Snakebitten Late for 2nd Straight Game - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Griffins Fall Short Against Iowa - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Monsters Defeat Wolves with 4-1 Victory - Cleveland Monsters
- Wolves Tripped Up By Monsters 4-1 - Chicago Wolves
- Athanasiou's Heroics Sink Thunderbirds with 4-3 Hogs' Win - Rockford IceHogs
- Penguins Fall to Hershey in Overtime, 4-3 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Crunch Fall to Phantoms, 4-2 - Syracuse Crunch
- Lapierre Leads Bears to 4-3 OT Win Over Penguins - Hershey Bears
- Comets Earn Point in 4-3 Overtime Loss to Americans - Utica Comets
- Bussi, P-Bruins Blank Islanders - Providence Bruins
- Hudon Ties it Late, Pinelli Wins it in OT - Ontario Reign
- Islanders Whitewashed by Providence, 5-0 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Davies Scores Twice in 300th Game, But Marlies Slip by Sens 3-2 in OT - Belleville Senators
- Checkers Hammer Hartford 4-0 in Front of Full House - Charlotte Checkers
- Wolf Pack Shutout 4-0 by Checkers - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Hofer Re-Assigned to Stingrays, Thornton Loaned to Orlando - Hershey Bears
- Preview: Phantoms vs. Crunch, Game #48 - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- The Crown Report: Marlies Aim to Use Road Trip Form as Fuel for February - Toronto Marlies
- Thunderbirds Visit Rockford as IceHogs Honor Bryan Bickell - Rockford IceHogs
- Wolf Pack Visit Checkers Looking for Third Straight Victory - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Game Day Preview - CGY vs ONT - Calgary Wranglers
- Game Preview: Bears at Penguins, 6:05 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- Game Preview: Condors vs Barracuda, 7 p.m. - Bakersfield Condors
- Weekend Preview: Islanders vs. Bruins - Bridgeport Islanders
- Game #46 Preview: Tucson Roadrunners at Henderson Silver Knights - Tucson Roadrunners
- Romantic Rodrigo Steals Hearts in Valentine's Win - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
