Reign Preview - Ontario at Iowa
Published on March 21, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release
WHO: Ontario Reign (39-17-3-2) at Iowa Wild (21-30-5-1)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #62/72
WHEN: Saturday, March 21 @ 3:00 Pacific
WHERE: Casey's Center - Des Moines, IA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey - AUDIO: Reign Radio - TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign
TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign look to split a two-game series tonight from Iowa after falling to the Wild 4-1 less than 24 hours ago.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR ONTARIO: With the loss last night the Reign saw their point streak end at 11 games where they went 8-0-2-1 from Feb.18-Mar.18. The regulation defeat last evening was the club's first since Feb. 16 where they fell 5-3 at Abbotsford. Ontario still sits in first place in the Pacific Division with 83 points with 11 games to go. Colorado is in second with 81 points, with a game in hand, as they take on Coachella Valley Saturday and Sunday from Loveland.
- Last night the Reign kick-off six straight games on the road as they had previously had a point four straight away from Toyota Arena, 3-0-1, and are now 17-12-0 away from Toyota Arena this season.
- Francesco Pinelli scored the lone goal in the defeat as it was just the sixth time through 61 games Ontario has been held to one goal in a game. The Reign have scored four or more goals in 29 contests this season posting a 26-2-1 record but have failed to score more than three in six straight after doing so in their previous six.
- Ontario has scored first in 11 of their last 14 games and hold a 25-5-1-1 record when drawing first blood this season.
- The Reign have gone seven straight games without scoring a power-play goal, 0-for-15, their longest drought of the year, after scoring on the man advantage in three straight, 5-for-16. They are 23-8-1 when scoring a power-play goal including 14-2-1 on home ice.
- Ontario allowed a power-play goal last night for the second straight game going 4-for-5 after going 2-for-3 on Wednesday. Previously the Reign had gone four straight, 9-for-9 without allowing a power-play goal against.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR IOWA: With the win last night the Wild stretched their point streak to a season long five games as improving to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games where they've outscored their opposition 27-16. Iowa sits in last place in the Central Division with 48 points.
- The Wild are 10-15-2-1 at Casey's Center this season as they played their first game on home last night since Feb. 24.
- Iowa has allowed single digit shot totals to opponents in nine of their last 10 games while limiting opponents to six shots or fewer in a period in five contests.
- The Wild have allowed just one power-play goal against overt their last four games, 12-for-13.
- Iowa has scored a power-play goal in four straight games, 4-for-21.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES: Ontario and Iowa met for a two-game series back at Toyota Arena in January where Reign picked up a pair of victories. On January 4thErik Portillo pitched 19 save shutout while Martin Chromiak scored a pair of goals andAndre Lee also found the back of the net. Then three days later the Reign edged out the wild by a final score of 4-3 in a game where they led 3-1 after the first period. Glenn Gawdin notched three assists in the win while Pheonix Copley earned the win making 24 saves.
BETWEEN TWO PIPES: For Ontario, Erik Portillo suffered his third straight loss last night allowing three goals on 25 shots. Prior to losing three straight, which include two beyond regulation, he had won four straight. He holds a 16-4-3 record with a with a 2.45 goals against average and .905 save percentage. Pheonix Copley made 24 saves on 25 shots in the 3-1 win over Abbotsford on Wednesday improving to 4-1-0 in his last five games and 6-1-1 in his last eight. He has posted a 17-11-1 record in 29 appearances this season with a 2.81 goals against average and .893 save percentage. For Iowa, Cal Peterson made 20 saves on 21 shots last night and has won five of his last six starts and is 8-1-1 in his last 10 decisions. William Rousseau was called up yesterday from the ECHL's Iowa Wild and made 34 saves on 35 shots on Mar. 7 in his last appearance with the Wild, a 2-1 victory at Springfield. In six games for Iowa this year he is 2-3-0 with a 2.38 GAA and .923 SV% while holding a 6-14-3 mark in 25 games with a 3.23 GAA and .895 SV% with the Heartlanders.
FAMILIAR FACES: Ontario Captain Joe Hicketts played two full seasons with the Wild from 2021-23 collecting 79 points (18G, 61A) in 133 games where he set a career high in goals (12) in 2021-22 while recording a personal best in assists (42) and points (48) the following season serving as an alternate captain. Iowa netminder Cal Peterson spent four seasons with the Reign from 2017-23 appearing in 156 games posting a 69-68-13 record, 3.20 GAA, .904 SV%, and nine shutouts. He is the franchise leader in games played and wins.
TEAM LEADERS:
Ontario
Points: Nikita Alexandrov (45)
Goals: Andre Lee (24)
Assists Nikita Alexandrov (34)
Iowa
Points: Gerry Mayhew (30)
Goals: Gerry Mayhew (16)
Assists: Dylan Gambrell, David Špaček (20)
TEAM NOTES:
Ontario
Goals For: 7th (3.31)
Goals Against: 7th (2.74)
Power-Play: 14th (19.9%)
Penalty Kill: 2nd (85.2%)
Iowa
Goals For: 31st (2.40)
Goals Against: 16th (3.11)
Power-Play: 26th (15.1%)
Penalty Kill: 21st (80.6%)
INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
Ontario
- Angus Booth recorded an assist last night and now has four in his last eight games.
- Joe Hicketts is slated to play in his 150th game with Ontario tonight.
- Jacob Doty notched his team leading seventh fighting major of the year last night.
- Francesco Pinelli scored his 11th goal of the season last night and is one point shy of a career high.
- Jan Jeník tallied two shots in his Reign debut last evening.
- Cole Guttman has 22 points (12G, 10A) in 29 career games against Iowa including 12 points (6G, 6A) in 12 contests against the Wild last season as a member of the Rockford IceHogs.
Iowa
- Dylan Gambrell scored a power-play goal and added an assist last night extending his point streak to four-game point streak (2G, 5A).
- Gerry Mayhew tallied two assists last night and has six points (2G, 4A) in his last six games.
- Jean-Luc Foudy registered an assist last night and has a four-game point streak (1G, 3A).
- Nicolas Aubé-Kubel scored last night and has 11 points (5G, 6A) in his last 13 games.
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