Reign Preview - Ontario at Tucson
Published on February 22, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release
WHO: Ontario Reign (33-16-1-1, 68pts, 1st) at Tucson Roadrunners (22-18-8-0, 52pts, 7th)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #52/72
WHEN: Sunday, February 22 @ 3:00 Pacific
WHERE: Tucson Convention Center Arena - Tucson, AZ
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey - AUDIO: Reign Radio - TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign
TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign complete a back-to-back series in Tucson this afternoon looking for a two-game series sweep over the Roadrunners.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR ONTARIO: After losing two straight games for just the fourth time this season, the Reign have won back-to-back games, both by final scores of 4-2. Ontario sits in first place in the Pacific Division with 68 points after their win in Tucson last night while Colorado, who has three games in hand on the Reign are in second with 66 points. Last night marked the 25th time through 51 games the Reign have scored four or more goals as they hold a 22-2-1-0 record when doing so while sitting seventh in the AHL averaging 3.35 goals for per game. Aatu Jämsen gave Ontario a 2-1 lead midway through the second period last night with his fifth goal in his last seven games while Andre Lee tallied his team leading 19th of the campaign 54 seconds later doubling the lead. The Reign have outscored their opponents 57-39 in the middle frame as the +18 goal differential is the second best in the league having now outscored their opposition 10-4 in period two over their last six games. If Ontario can get on the board first today, they'll have taken a 1-0 lead for the fifth straight contest which would be a season high as they hold 20-5-0 record when drawing first blood. Ontario sits just 31st in the league averaging 25.31 shots for per game but they've put up 30 or more in four of their last five games for an average of 29.6 while they're fourth in shots against allowing 25.82 per contest, 23.7 over their last six. The Reign are 15-11-0 on the road this season having lost three of their last five.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR TUCSON: The Roadrunners sit in seventh place in the Pacific Division with 52 points but have won three of their last five games and since Dec. 27 they have a point in 16 of 22 games with a 12-6-4 record. Tucson played their first game on home ice last evening since Jan. 31 but they've now fallen in six straight games at Tucson Arena, 0-3-3, dating back to Jan. 17 holding a 11-10-6 record on home ice. The Roadrunners are just 26th in the AHL allowing 3.31 goals against per game this season having given up three or more in eight of their last nine while they're 13th averaging 3.19 goals for per game having scored 19 over their last five which include a seven and six goal game.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES: Ontario holds a 3-0-1 record vs. Tucson this season, 1-0-0 in Tucson, now having won five straight in Arizona. Andre Lee (2G, 3A) and Francesco Pinelli (3G, 2A) pace the way offensively for Ontario while Sammy Walker(2G, 3A) leads the way for Tucson but he's been absent from the lineup in four straight. The Reign have outscored the Roadrunners 17-10 including 7-3 in the first period. Prior to last night each team had scored a power-play goal in the first three games as Ontario is now 3-for-16 and Tucson is 4-for-14.
BETWEEN TWO PIPES: For Ontario, Erik Portillo and Pheonix Copley have alternated starts over the last 21 games since Portillo returned from injury on Jan. 4. Copley picked up the win last night making 15 saves on 17 shots as he has won three of his last four. Portillo got back into the win column on Wednesday night making 22 saves on 24 shots. He had lost two of his previous three starts after coming away victorious in 10 straight decisions. For Tucson, Jaxon Stauber and Matthew Villaltahad alternated starts over the last 14 games before Stauber got the nod for the second straight game last evening. He made 26 saves on 29 shots in the loss after having won his previous two starts. Villalta allowed five goals on 20 shots in a 6-1 loss at Coachella Valley last Friday as he is 2-2-2 in his last six starts after winning four straight.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR INDIVIDUALLY FOR ONTARIO: Francesco Pinelli lifted his point streak to three-games last night (2G, 2A), after scoring a goal for his second straight game while notching an assist for his fourth multi-point game of the year. He has eight points (4G, 4A) in his last 10 games and 11 points (5G, 6A) in his last 16. After scoring his first professional goal on Wednesday, Jack Millar provided an insurance score last night with a short-handed empty net goal as he has four points (2G, 2A) in is last six games. Aatu Jämsen scored his fifth goal in his last seven games last evening as he has eight points (7G, 1A) in his last 11, and 14 points (10G, 4A) in his last 20.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR INDIVIDUALLY FOR TUCSON: Austin Poganski grabbed Tucson's first score last night as he has seven points (4G, 3A) in his last 10 games. Dmitri Simashev logged an assist last night as he has nine points (2G, 7A) in his last nine games and is third among rookie league defenders with 24 points (7G, 17A).
PROLIFIC PK: The Reign went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill last night and are now 12-for-12 over their last six games. They have allowed a power-play goal against in just one of their last 12 games (26-for-27), two of their last 16 (44-for-46), and four of their last 24 (62-for-68). They rank third in the AHL at 85.3%.
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