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AHL Ontario Reign

Reign Crushed by Colorado

April 2, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release


The Colorado Eagles (34-19-4-3) got two goals from three different players on their way to a 8-1 decision over the Ontario Reign (36-15-4-3) on Friday night in the opening game of a weekend series between the two teams at Toyota Arena.

Ontario's lone tally came from forward Samuel Fagemo on the power play in the third period. The Eagles were led by forwards Martin Kaut, Kiefer Sherwood and defenseman Jacob MacDonald who each had two goals in the contest while netminder Hunter Miska turned aside 31 Reign shots.

The Eagles took control of the game early, scoring on the first shot of the night when MacDonald beat Reign goaltender Matt Villalta at 1:13.

Colorado extended their lead at 8:36 of the opening frame on a power play tally by Kaut and later made it 3-0 at 12:18 on a goal by Sherwood off a faceoff win in the Eagles' offensive end.

It was more of the same for Colorado in the second, as Sherwood found the back of the net again at 2:05 and Dylan Sikura added on at 8:12 to put the Eagles up by five, forcing Ontario to make a goaltending change with Lukas Parik replacing Villalta.

Less than three minutes later, Kaut scored his second of the game on the man-advantage at 10:48 and Eagles' captain Jayson Megna produced goal No. 7 for the Eagles at 12:56 of the middle period.

The final Colorado tally of the contest came from MacDonald at 12:24 of the third. Fagemo responded less than a minute later at 13:15 with his 24th goal of the year on the power play from forward TJ Tynan and defender Helge Grans.

Fagemo now ranks second on the team in goal scoring and third among active skaters with 38 total points during 2021-22. Tynan increased his AHL-leading point total to 84 with his league-leading 71st assist.

While the score was lopsided, the shots on goal were much closer with Colorado holding a 33-32 edge. Villalta stopped 14 shots and took the loss, while Parik turned out 11 attempts in relief for the Reign. The Eagles had a big night on the man-advantage, converting on 4-of-6 chances while Ontario ended at 1-for-4 on the power play.

Chris Hajt

On tonight's performance

It was a real game. They are a real good team over there that has good team speed. They play well as a team, and they come in waves. We obviously weren't prepared to play at that level and that's a bit of a wake-up call. We haven't seen these guys in a long time and that's what we were talking about in between periods, so now we know. The best thing we can do is to play tomorrow against the same team. That's important, and obviously we have these guys four more times. We've got to respond for not having a great effort tonight.

On the conversations in the locker room between periods

There are lots of different things, whether your talking structure, lose puck battles, adjustments or whatever it is. We're playing against a team that's hungry, that's right behind us, and that wants to make a point. They're a really good team and they come into our building and play a good hockey game. Again, it's a wake up call for us.

On Akil Thomas' development this season

Coming off those surgeries, you can't imagine what he's gone through. Akil is a true pro and he takes his profession seriously. With the amount of time he's spent at the rink getting back, and getting his strength up and his conditioning, he's had struggles or he's sat out a game or two. It takes time. You can't imagine going through what he's gone through. The last five or six games he's started to turn the corner, where he's feeling the puck a little bit more, he's making more plays, and he's getting on the scoresheet. He's given us a lot on the penalty kill over the last 20 games since he's been back, so there's other things that he's doing well, but its just that he's starting to feel it a little more with the puck. You get to see glimpses of what he had last year. He's a true professional and a great kid. He stuck with it. You lean on your teammates, family and friends. Everyone has stayed positive on him and he's stayed positive on himself.

On how Samuel Helenius has been settling in

He's fit right in. With any new person, we talk systems and the different things within our game, and he's been able to adjust to it and do a good job of it. He's got a big, long body and he skates well. He's not afraid to throw checks around and use his size. There's a lot of really good things that we see there and hopefully there's more to come.

On Andre Lee's debut

He's coming in and it was a tough game. It's just one game but I thought he got better as the game went on. He started making more plays and protecting the puck and had some opportunities. You can see that he has good hands and good ability around the net. He made some better wall plays as the game went on. It's about adjusting to the speed and the size, and we played a really good team but we weren't very good.

Andre Lee

On making his professional debut

It was fun. I felt like I skated well out there. It was a tough score and tough game to jump in to but we've got another game tomorrow, so we cant complain.

On the last few days and his decision to officially join the organization

It was a lot of stress but also fun at the same time. I had some talks with the organization and with my advisor, and luckily we came to the conclusion to leave college. Those three years were really fun but now we've got to move on and play as a pro.

On joining taking some power play shifts

I felt good. I played on the power play back in Lowell and almost in a similar position, so I felt calm out there.

On the differences between the AHL and the NCAA

It's tough. There's a lot of hits. You've got to play as a big boy. I remember in college, sometimes it wasn't as intense or as tough but I like it.

The Reign and Eagles rematch on Saturday night at Toyota Arena beginning at 6 p.m. PST.

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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.

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