Reign Downed by Firebirds, 3-2, in Overtime
Published on March 14, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release
The Ontario Reign (38-16-2-2) fell to the Coachella Valley Firebirds (31-20-5-0) Friday night in overtime by a final score of 3-2 in front of 8,0446 fans at Acrisure Arena. The Reign host the Firebirds Saturday night at 6 p.m. PST.
Martin Chromiak scored his 21st goal of the season early into the second giving Ontario a 1-0 lead but Coachella Valley would take a 2-1 lead going into the third period. Jack Hughes tied the game on his fourth of the year just 4:40 into the final 20 minutes of play but it would be Gustav Olofsson handing the Firebirds the win at 2:34 of overtime as the Reign picked up a point for their ninth straight game.
It was a scoreless first period as both teams exchanged chances with eight shots on net and a power-play opportunity.
Martin Chromiak (21st) opened the scoring 4:22 into the second period from Otto Salin and Kenny Connors. From the right-wing side Connors fed Salin at the center point where he sent a wrist shot to the net. It was blocked in front with a lot of traffic where Chromiak located it and sent it in from the right side of the crease. With 10 minutes left in the period Mitchell Stephens tied the game with a four-on-four breakaway score beating Copley glove side with a wrist shot from the high slot. Kenny Connors had short-handed breakaway with about eight minutes to go but was denied by Kokko. Then Connors had another breakaway with just inside five minutes to go where he drew a penalty, but the Reign were then assessed a two-minute bench minor for too many men on the ice as we skated four aside again. With 18.6 seconds left in the period Jani Nyman put Coachella Valley out in front 2-1 when he was setup right at the crease on a feed from Oscar Fisker Mølgaard in the right circle. Shots were 9-5 Ontario in the period.
Jack Hughes (4th) tied the score at 2-2 just 4:40 into the third period when Jacob Doty won the face-off back in the right circle sent a quick shot by Kokko. Each team had a power-play opportunity in the back half of the period but neither would convert as overtime was needed to decide a winner.
Gustav Olofsson scored the game winner for the Firebirds at 2:34 of the extra session when he cut through the high slot and from inside the left circle beat Copley short-side giving Coachella Valley a 3-2 overtime win.
Pheonix Copley made 21 saves on 24 shots in the loss while Nikke Kokko made 26 saves on 28 shots in the win. Each team went 0-for-4 on the power-play.
Postgame thoughts from Andrew Lord and Jack Hughes.
Lord
On tonight's loss
Some good things. Really nice job by our fourth line there, getting that face off goal. It's a big one by Hughes, with Doty on the draw. I thought uncharacteristic big mistakes, at the wrong time tonight. Their first one, we have two D on a partial two on one, and we don't cover for them, they get a real easy breakaway. We should be either on the power play or a penalty shot there when Kenny Connors going in, but we have a really poor line change. So we even it up with too many men. We give them a big goal against there with 17 seconds to go in the second. Those are all big momentum swings that's just not what we're about, right? So we got to get back to it. We got to get back to playing real winning hockey.
Hughes
On coming back in the third period
I think we just know we're a good team, just kind of sticking with it. Had a lot of games where our second period hasn't been great, and then we come back and respond, but it kind of put ourselves in a bad spot. Sometimes we figure it out and turn it around, and sometimes we don't.
On his goal
Just had a little bit more space than normally on a play like that. There wasn't too much traffic, so I just tried to get it on net.
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