ECHL Ontario Reign

Reign fall to Salmon Kings in SO

March 14, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Ontario Reign News Release


VICTORIA, BC, Canada - The Ontario Reign, proud affiliate of the NHL Los Angeles Kings and AHL Manchester Monarchs, was defeated by the Victoria Salmon Kings in the shootout, 4-3, Saturday evening before a crowd of 5,632 fans at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

The Reign opened up scoring in the match after two Victoria penalties found them with a two-man advantage. Right wing Geoff Walker buried the puck behind Victoria netminder Julien Ellis at 3:22. Defenseman Dan Knapp and center Jon Francisco registered the assists on the power play goal, and the Reign took an early 1-0 lead. Walker's goal marked the only scoring in the first period, and the clubs headed into the second with the Reign leading the Salmon Kings.

The Reign was able to hold their lead until 14:23 in the second period, when defenseman Matt Kelly scored the equalizer for Victoria. Kelly threw a puck past Ontario goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, with assists from right wing Dan Gendur and left wing Curtis Billsten. Both teams geared up for the final period of play, looking to score the go-ahead goal.

The Salmon Kings took their first lead of the game midway through the third period during a power play. Dan Gendur found center Olivier Filion ready on the side of the net. Filion pounded the puck past Zatkoff to make the score 2-1. Right wing Wes Goldie registered the secondary assist on the power play goal.

Less than a minute and a half later, right wing Bud Holloway tied the game. Holloway skated behind the net and ducked the puck between his skates before he fired a shot into the net. Left wing Ryan MacGregor registered the only assist on the goal.

At 13:51, Ryan MacGregor scored his second point of the match and gave the Reign a 3-2 lead. MacGregor chipped the puck towards the goal, where it bounced off Ellis' pads and slid backwards into the goal. Center Tim Kraus picked up the assist.

The Salmon Kings pulled Ellis for the extra attacker with 1:13 remaining in regulation. The man advantage worked for Victoria, when defenseman Aaron Brocklehurst tied the game with only 11 seconds remaining. Center Chris St. Jacques and Matt Kelly notched the assists. Brocklehurst's goal at 19:49 sent the teams into an overtime session to determine the winner. The five-minute sudden death overtime session yielded no goals for either team, so the clubs headed into a shootout. None of the three shooters for Ontario found the back of the net, but all three Victoria players scored. Victoria won the match with a final score of Salmon Kings 4, Reign 3.

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ECHL Stories from March 14, 2009


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