ECHL Ontario Reign

Late Burst Propels Reign Past Thunder 5-3

April 10, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Ontario Reign News Release


ONTARIO, Calif. - The Ontario Reign (44-19-3-4), four-time Pacific Division Champions and proud affiliate of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets, had a late burst of five goals in the third period to beat the Stockton Thunder (32-31-1-6) 5-3 on Wednesday night before a crowd of 8,000 at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

In the first period, a Reign turnover at the Thunder blue line allowed for Stockton to make two quick passes and give Adam Brace an easy back door shot past Jussi Olkinuora at 4:54.

Not too much action came in the second frame as the Reign continued to outshoot the Thunder. Ontario had 13 shots on goal through the middle period, the Thunder were kept to just eight.

A mere 32 seconds into the final period, Derek Couture received a feed from Matt White and launched a shot from the right circle. Brian Foster completely misread the shot and the puck found its way through his pads to tie the game 1-1. Rocco Carzo also assisted on the play. Couture struck again at 7:15 when the loose puck skipped around the pads of Foster catching him out of position. A Thunder defenseman tried his luck between the pipes, the Reign Captain pushed it across the goal line to give his team a 2-1 lead. White set up the play once again for his second assist of the game.

In his first game back since Mar. 7, Tyler Gron exploded out of the Reign zone off a pass from Lane Scheidl, beat the Thunder defense and snapped a shot past Foster to push past Stockton 3-1. Stockton got a shot through traffic at 12:10 to cut the Reign's lead down to 3-2.

With 2:34 left on the clock - Maxim Kitsyn wrapped the puck around and got it past Foster to jump ahead to a 4-2 lead. Moments later the Thunder responded with a quick goal past the glove side of Olkinuora.

With 31 second left in regulation, Matt Register fired a shot on Stockton's empty net but it went just wide. Scheidl was there to knock it in for the empty-net, insurance goal. The tally marked the fifth of the period, a season-high for goals in a single frame.

Olkinuora earned the win with 28 saves; Foster took the loss with 31.

Three Stars:

1. ONT - Derek Couture

2. ONT - Matt White

3. ONT - Tyler Gron

Click here to view the box score.

Reign Drops:

If you have watched the Reign earned their fourth Pacific Division title, and fight for the top spot in the Western Conference, you won't want to miss a moment of their journey to the Kelly Cup Playoffs beginning the week of April 21. For more information on getting your Reign playoff tickets visit ontarioreign.com or call 909.941.PUCK (7825) and find the best deal to meet your hockey needs!

Check out the Ontario Reign Statistics



ECHL Stories from April 10, 2014


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