Reign Close Successful Regular Season; Prepare for First-Round Tilt vs. San Jose
April 18, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release
Ontario Reign vs. San Jose Barracuda
(Ontario Reign)
The Week That Was...
With a regular-season Pacific Division and Western Conference title in hand, the Ontario Reign wrapped up the 2015-16 campaign with a pair of matchups against the San Diego Gulls and finished their inaugural AHL season with an overall record of 44-19-4-1.
On Friday in San Diego, CA, the Reign surrendered the first goal of the contest, but roared back with four straight tallies to earn a 4-2 win and extend their winning streak to five games. Forwards Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Michael Mersch each scored a goal and an assist and goalie Peter Budaj earned his AHL-leading 42nd win, making 32 saves.
The two teams wrapped up the regular-season on Saturday at Valley View Casino Center with the Gulls taking a 3-2 victory. Reign forward Matt Schmalz scored his first professional goal and added an assist and forward Joel Lowry also contributed a goal and an assist. With an assist on Lowry's marker, forward Kris Newbury closed the season on a six-game point streak (three goals, five assists).
2015-16 Regular-Season Statistics
The Numbers
Record: 44-19-4-1, 93 points, .684 winning percentage (1st Place, Pacific Division)
Home: 22-8-3-1
Away: 22-11-1-0
Last 10 Games: 6-4-0-0
Streak: 0-1-0-0
Goals: Michael Mersch (24)
Assists: Sean Backman, Nic Dowd (34)
Points: Sean Backman (55)
Penalty Minutes: Kurtis MacDermid (121)
Power-Play Goals: Sean Backman (8)
Power-Play Assists: Sean, Backman, Nic Dowd (11)
Power-Play Points: Sean Backman (19)
Shorthanded Goals: Andrew Crescenzi, Justin Auger (2)
Shorthanded Assists: Six players with one assist
Shorthanded Points: Andrew Crescenzi (3)
Game-Winning Goals: Sean Backman (8)
Wins: Peter Budaj (42)
GAA: Peter Budaj (1.75)
SPCT: Peter Budaj (.932)
League Leaders:
Forward Sean Backman tied for 19th in the AHL scoring race with 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists) and was first in the league with 250 shots and tied for first with eight game-winning goals. Forward Michael Mersch finished fourth in the AHL with 211 shots.
Goaltender Peter Budaj led the AHL regular-season with a 1.75 goals-against average (GAA), nine shutouts, 42 wins, 3575 minutes played and .932 save percentage. He was second in the AHL with 1431 saves.
Defenseman Kurtis MacDermid finished fifth among rookies with 121 penalty minutes and tied for fourth with 28 minor penalties.
Forward Jonny Brodzinski was fifth among AHL rookies with 173 shots.
Defenseman Vincent LoVerde led all AHL blueliners with four game-winning goals.
This Week:
Ontario Reign at San Jose Barracuda
Game 1 - First Round - 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs
Friday, Apr. 22
7:30 p.m. PT
SAP Center in San Jose, California
Listen Live: OntarioReign.com, AHL Live
Preview: 12 regular-season meetings, 9-3-0-0 head-to-head record
Ontario Reign at San Jose Barracuda
Game 2 - First Round - 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs
Saturday, Apr. 23
7:30 p.m. PT
SAP Center in San Jose, California
Listen Live: OntarioReign.com, AHL Live
Images from this story
 Ontario Reign vs. San Jose Barracuda |
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