Reign Preview - Ontario at Tucson
AHL Ontario Reign

Reign Preview - Ontario at Tucson

Published on March 27, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release


WHO: Ontario Reign (40-18-3-2) at Tucson Roadrunners (29-23-9-0)

WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #64/72

WHEN: Friday, March 27 @ 7:00 Pacific

WHERE: Tucson Convention Center - Tucson, AZ

HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey - AUDIO: Reign Radio - TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign kick-off a back-to-back tonight from Arizona taking on the Tucson Roadrunners.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR ONTARIO: The Reign can clinch a playoff spot tonight with a regulation win becoming the seventh team in the AHL to earn a berth into postseason play. Ontario fell 3-1 in Henderson on Wednesday and are now 2-2-2-1 in their last seven games having collected a point in 12 of 14, 9-2-2-1, dating back to Feb. 18. With nine games remaining in the regular season for Ontario, they hold the top spot in the Pacific Division with 85 points. Colorado, who has a game in hand, sits in second place with 82 points as they play in Calgary while San Jose with 80 points is in third with 11 games to play as they're off tonight.

- Tonight marks the fourth of six straight games on the road as the Reign have dropped back-to-back away from Toyota Arena but have a point in five of their last seven, 4-2-1, and hold a 18-13-0 road record.

- The Reign have scored four or more goals in 29 contests this season posting a 26-2-1 record but have failed to score four or more in eight straight after doing so in their previous six. They've been outscored 21-18 in their last seven games scoring just five goals in their last three.

- Ontario went 1-for-3 on the power-play Wednesday as Francesco Pinelli tallied his first man advantage strike of the year. The Reign have a power-play strike in two straight, 2-for-5, after going seven games in a row without scoring on the power-play, 0-for-15. They are 24-9-1 when scoring a power-play goal including 10-7-0 on the road.

- The Reign allowed a power-play goal for the fourth straight game Wednesday going 2-for-3, now 12-for-16 in their last four games. Prior they had gone four in a row, 9-for-9, without giving one up.

- Ontario has been held to single digits in shots in seven straight first periods and in six of their last seven second periods.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR TUCSON: The Roadrunners have won four straight games and have points in five consecutive, 4-0-1. Most recently they collected a two-game series sweep in Manitoba defeating the Moose 4-1 on Monday and 4-3 Saturday. With 10 games remaining after tonight Tucson has 67 points, three points back of the final playoff spot held by San Diego who plays in Abbotsford tomorrow and Sunday.

- A win tonight for Tucson would match a season long five game win streak which they had from Jan.2-16. In their last four games they have outscored their opponents 19-12 scoring four or more goals in each game. During their last five games they've outscored their opposition 25-19.

- The Roadrunners hold a 13-12-7 record at Tucson Convention Center this season having won two straight and a point in three in a row, 2-0-1.

- Tucson has a power-play goal in two straight, 3-for-6, and in three of their last four, 5-for-13. They've gone two straight games without giving up a power-play goal, 7-for-7, after allowing one in four straight, 9-for-14.

HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES: Ontario holds a 5-0-1 mark vs. Tucson this season having won five straight including 2-0-0 in Tucson. The Reign have outscored the Roadrunners 26-14 having potted four or more goals in all six games while holding them to two or fewer in four of the last five. Andre Lee paces the way for the Reign with 10 points (5G, 5A) while Sammy Walker leads the way for the Roadrunners with five points (2G, 3A). Ontario is 7-for-27 on the power-play scoring in five of six games, including back-to-back two goal power-play games while they're 15-for-20 on the penalty kill. Pheonix Copley has won both starts against Tucson with a 1.50 goals against average and .917 save percentage while Erik Portillo is 3-0-1. Matthew Villalta has lost two of three games for Tucson while Jaxson Stauber has lost all three.

Oct. 10, 2025: Ontario (4) vs. Tucson (5) OT

Oct. 12, 2025: Ontario (4) vs. Tucson (2)

Feb. 4, 2026: Ontario (5) vs. Tucson (1)

Feb. 21, 2026: Ontario (4) at Tucson (2)

Feb. 22, 2026: Ontario (5) at Tucson (3)

Mar. 4, 2026: Ontario (4) vs. Tucson (1)

BETWEEN TWO PIPES: For Ontario, Erik Portillo suffered his fourth straight loss Wednesday making 28 saves on 30 shots. Prior to losing four straight, which include two beyond regulation, he had won four in a row. Pheonix Copley picked up his second straight win on Saturday making 26 saves on 27 shots and has allowed just one goal in each of his last two appearances stopping 48 of 50 shots. He is 5-0-1 in his last six games with a 1.96 goals against average and .920 save percentage and 7-1-1 in his last nine with a 2.31 GAA and .903 SV%. For Tucson, Matthew Villalta made 20 saves on 21 shots Monday for his second straight win after losing four straight decisions. Jaxson Stauber has also won back-to-back games after making 17 saves on 20 shots Saturday as he is 4-1-1 in his last six starts. Michael Hrabal was signed to a PTO on Thursday after playing the last three seasons at UMass-Amherst. He was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in 2023, second round, 38th overall.

TEAM LEADERS:

Ontario

Points: Martin Chromiak, Nikita Alexandrov (46)

Goals: Andre Lee (25)

Assists Nikita Alexandrov (34)

Tucson

Points: Ben McCartney, Austin Poganski (47)

Goals: Ben McCartney (21)

Assists: Scott Perunovich (33)

TEAM NOTES:

Ontario

Goals For: 10th (3.27)

Goals Against: 7th (2.71)

Power-Play: 8th (20.4%)

Penalty Kill: 3rd (84.7%)

Tucson

Goals For: 14th (3.21)

Goals Against: 27th (3.38)

Power-Play: 7th (20.9%)

Penalty Kill: 32nd (75.1%)

Ontario

Martin Chromiak has nine points (6G, 3A) in his last 12 games and six points (4G, 2A) vs. Tucson this year.

Koehn Ziemmer has four points (3G, 1A). He picked up an assist Wednesday and his third fighting major.

Andre Lee is tied for sixth in the AHL with 25 goals. He has a point in all five games vs. Tucson including three multi-point games.

Jacob Doty is slated to play in his 300th career AHL game, 229th with Ontario.

Francesco Pinelli set a career high Wednesday with his 30th point of the season, his 12th goal, first on the power-play. He has two goals in his last three games and three points (2G, 1A) in his last five. He has six points (3G, 3A) vs. Tucson this year.

Tucson

Scott Perunovich has a three-game point streak (1G, 4A). He is fourth among AHL defensemen with 41 points and tied for fourth with 33 assists.

Dmitri Simashev has a five-game point streak (6A). He is third among AHL rookie defenders with 34 points, second with eight goals and 26 assists.

Austin Poganski has a five-game point streak (6G, 3A).

Andrew Agozzino has a five-game point streak (5G, 6A).

Check out the Ontario Reign Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2026


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