Ontario Reign Weekly: Reign Prepare for Texas-Sized Showdown vs. Stars this Week
February 22, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release
Ontario Reign vs. the Texas Stars
(Ontario Reign)
The Week That Was...
The Ontario Reign took on the Stockton Heat, Texas Stars and San Diego Gulls this week for a week record of 2-1-0-0 to hold the first-place position in the Pacific Division and reclaim the top spot in the Western Conference with an overall record of 30-14-3-1.
The Reign and Heat met at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario on Wednesday to close a home-and-home series. Forward Andrew Crescenzi scored a goal and two assists and line mates Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Valentin Zykov each hit the back of the net as the Reign cruised to a 6-1 victory, snapping a rare three-game losing streak. Reign leading-point producer Sean Backman also contributed with two goals.
The winning momentum carried into Friday's tilt against the Stars as Samuels-Thomas and Crescenzi again lit the goal lamp and team captain Vincent LoVerde buried the game-winning goal in the third period in a 4-1 triumph. The win snapped the Stars' six-game winning streak.
The Gulls tracked down the Reign on Saturday as Ontario kicked off a five-game road trip. Defensemen Kevin Raine and Nick Ebert would grab goals, but the Gulls slipped three shots past netminder Peter Budaj and potted an empty-net marker en route to a 4-2 win.
The Numbers
Record: 30-14-3-1 (1st Place, Pacific Division, 1st in Western Conference)
Home: 19-6-2-1
Away: 11-8-1-0
Last 10 Games: 6-4-0-0
Streak: 0-1-0-0
Goals: Michael Mersch* (19)
Assists: Nic Dowd (27)
Points: Sean Backman (38)
Penalty Minutes: Kurtis MacDermid (91)
Power-Play Goals: Sean Backman, Michael Mersch* (5)
Power-Play Assists: Nic Dowd (10)
Power-Play Points: Sean Backman (14)
Shorthanded Goals: Andrew Crescenzi (2)
Shorthanded Assists: Four players with one assist
Shorthanded Points: Sean Backman, Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Andrew Crescenzi (2)
Game-Winning Goals: Sean Backman, Michael Mersch* (5)
Wins: Peter Budaj (28)
GAA: Peter Budaj (1.58)
SPCT: Peter Budaj (.935)
*Mersch is currently recalled to the Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
League Leaders:
Forward Sean Backman is first in the AHL with 166 shots and forward Michael Mersch is second with 149 shots.
Goaltender Peter Budaj leads the league with a 1.58 goals-against average (GAA), eight shutouts, 28 wins and 2464 minutes played and a .935 save percentage. Budaj is fifth in the AHL with 929 saves.
Defenseman Kurtis MacDermid is fifth among rookies with 91 penalty minutes and fourth with 23 minor penalties.
This Week:
Ontario Reign at Texas Stars
Friday, Feb. 26
5:30 p.m. PT
Cedar Park Center in Cedar Park, TX
Listen Live: OntarioReign.com, AHL Live
Preview: 5th of 6 meetings, 4-0-0-0 head-to-head record
Ontario Reign at Texas Stars
Saturday, Feb. 27
5:00 p.m. PT
Cedar Park Center in Cedar Park, TX
Listen Live: OntarioReign.com, AHL Live
Preview: 6th of 6 meetings
National Hockey League Affiliate Update
Los Angeles Kings
Record: 34-20-4, 72 points
Standing: 1st Pacific Division, 4th Western Conference
Upcoming Games: Tuesday vs. Calgary, Thursday vs. Edmonton, Saturday vs. Buffalo, Sunday at Anaheim
Leading Scorer: Anze Kopitar
ECHL Affiliate Update
Manchester Monarchs
Record: 33-15-1-4, 71 points
Standing: 1st East Division, 1st Eastern Conference
Upcoming Games: Wednesday vs. Adirondack, Friday at Norfolk, Saturday at Norfolk
Leading Scorer: Matt Leitner
Images from this story
 Ontario Reign vs. the Texas Stars |
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from February 22, 2016
- Dalpe's Heroics Propel Wild Past Moose 3-2 - Iowa Wild
- Reign Prepare for Texas-Sized Showdown vs. Stars this Week - Ontario Reign
- Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Matt Taormina, Reassign Slater Koekkoek to Syracuse Crunch - Syracuse Crunch
- Rockford Remains in Dead Heat Atop Central Division - Rockford IceHogs
- Trip to Chicago, Three-In-Three Homestand up Next for Griffins - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Blackhawks Reassign Hinostroza - Rockford IceHogs
- Texas Stars Weekly Update - Texas Stars
- San Antonio Rampage Weekly Update - San Antonio Rampage
- Flames Acquire Hunter Shinkaruk from Vancouver, Assign to Stockton - Stockton Heat
- Phantoms Sign F Dalton Smith to PTO - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Ontario Reign Weekly: Reign Prepare for Texas-Sized Showdown vs. Stars this Week - Ontario Reign
- Weekly News and Notes of the Stockton Heat - Stockton Heat
- Manitoba Moose Weekly - Manitoba Moose
- Reign Host Eighth Year-End Gala to Benefit the Be Perfect Foundation - Ontario Reign
- Wolf Pack Weekly - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Faragher Reassigned to Utah - San Diego Gulls
- IceCaps Issuing Update Card Set Featuring John Scott - St. John's IceCaps
- Rochester's Linus Ullmark Named CCM/AHL Player of the Week - Rochester Americans
- Rochester's Linus Ullmark Named CCM/AHL Player of the Week - AHL
- Knight Recalled from Quad City - Iowa Wild
- Ricoh Rock Report - St. John's IceCaps
- Canucks Reassign Centre Alex Friesen to Comets - Utica Comets
- Falcons Weekly - Springfield Falcons
- Cal O'Reilly Recalled from Rochester - Rochester Americans
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.
