Reign Preview - Ontario vs. Tucson
Published on March 4, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release
WHO: Ontario Reign (35-16-1-1, 72pts, 1st) vs. Tucson Roadrunners (24-20-8-0, 56pts, 7th)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #54/72
WHEN: Wednesday, March 4 @ 7:00 Pacific
WHERE: Toyota Arena - Ontario, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey - AUDIO: Reign Radio - TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign
TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign open a three-game week tonight as they host the Tucson Roadrunners at Toyota Arena.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR ONTARIO: The Reign have won four straight games outscoring their opponents 17-9 as a win tonight would push their win streak to a season high five games. Ontario is tied with Colorado for first place in the Pacific Division as each team has 72 points, 19 games remaining, and a .679 winning percentage. The Reign won seven of their last nine games, 10 of their last 14, and hold a 17-6-0 mark in 2026.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR TUCSON: The Roadrunners are coming off a 6-4 win in San Jose Sunday as they play their fourth of six straight on the road. Tucson sits in seventh place in the Pacific Division with 56 points with 19 games remaining as they've played .500 hockey over the last month holding a 5-5-0 record. Of their 52 games played, 37 of them have been determined by one or two goals as they hold a 12-3-8 mark in one-score contests and 3-11-0 in games decided by two goals. They rank towards the bottom of the AHL in terms of their defensive play sitting at 26th in goals against average, 3.35, 31st on the penalty kill at 75.4%, and 24th in shots against at 29.19.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES: Ontario holds a 4-0-1 record vs. Tucson this season including 1-0-1 in Ontario. The Reign have outscored the Roadrunners 22-13 having scored four or more goals in all five games while outscoring them 8-3 in the first, 8-6 in the second, and 6-3 in the third. Andre Lee (4G, 4A) paces the way offensively for the Reign while Martin Chromiak, Francesco Pinelli, and Aatu Jämsen each have three goals. Sammy Walker leads the way for the Roadrunners with five points (2G, 3A) while Kevin Rooney has four goals. Ontario is 5-for-21 on the power-play having scored in four of the five games while Tucson is 5-for-17 also having scored in four contests.
BETWEEN TWO PIPES: For Ontario, Erik Portillo and Pheonix Copley have alternated starts over the last 23 games since Portillo returned from injury on Jan. 4. Copley picked up the Sunday making 22 saves on 24 shots for his second straight win and is now victorious in four of his last five. Portillo picked up the win in Tucson on Feb. 22 in his last start making 25 saves on 28 shots for his second straight win. He has won nine of 11 games since returning from injury after missing 16 consecutive games from Nov.13-Jan.2 and is victorious in 13 of his last 15 decisions. For Tucson, Jaxson Stauber made 28 saves on 32 shots Sunday in the win vs. San Jose. It was his third straight start as he has won two of his last three and four of his last six. Matthew Villalta made a relief appearance on Feb. 28 in San Jose making 15 saves on 16 shots in 20:15 and allowed four goals on 24 shots against the Reign on Feb. 22 in his last start. He has lost back-to-back decisions and is 2-3-2 in his last seven.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR INDIVIDUALLY FOR ONTARIO: Andre Lee lifted his point streak to three-games (3G, 2A) with an assist on Sunday as he is slated to play in his 200th career AHL game tonight, all with Ontario. The Reign are 13-2-1-1 when he scores and 23-3-1-1 when he tallies a point. Aatu Jämsen scored his 15th goal of the season Sunday opening the scoring 91 seconds in the game with his sixth goal in his last nine games. He has six points (4G, 2A) in his las five, 11 points (8G, 3A) in his last 13, and 17 points (11G, 6A) in his last 22 after notching just eight points (4G, 4A) in his first 27. Martin Chromiak is one point shy of setting a career high in points and two goals shy of a career best as he has 39 points (17G, 22A) in 51 games after notching 39 (18G, 21A) in 69 games a year ago.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR INDIVIDUALLY FOR TUCSON: Kevin Rooney has a four-game point streak (2G, 3A) and 11 points (5G, 6A) in his last 10 games. Scott Perunovich has four goals in his last five games and seven points (4G, 3A) in his last seven games. He ranks sixth among league defenders with 34 points (6G, 28A) in 47 games. Dmitiri Simashev has eight points (3G, 5A) in his last nine games and is second among league rookie defenders with 28 points (8G, 20A) in 30 games.
NHL DEBUTS: On Monday night Angus Booth, Kenny Connors, and Jared Wright all made their NHL debuts marking the 11th occasion in Kings history that at least three players made their NHL debut for the team in the same game. Booth became the fourth defenseman, and 24th skater overall, in franchise history to score their first career goal in their NHL debut when he tied the game at 2-2 at 11:28 of the second period. He finished the game with a plus-one rating and 12:18 of ice time, while Connors tallied four shots in 10:14, and Wright finished with three hits in 9:42. All three were drafted in the 2022 NHL draft.
GOAL SCORING AT A PREMIUM: Sunday marked the 27th time through 53 games this season where they Reign have scored four or more goals as they hold a 24-2-1-0 mark when recording four more goals in a game as they sit fourth in the AHL averaging 3.40 goals for per game. Ontario has outscored their opposition 61-42 in the second period as the +19 goal differential is the second best in the league, Charlotte sits at +21, 62-41. Over their last eight games the Reign have outscored their opponents 14-7, scoring a goal in all eight games, while having multi-goal second periods in three of their last four.
GETTING ON THE BOARD FIRST: The Reign have taken a 1-0 lead in six straight contests, a season high, as they hold a 22-5-0 record when drawing first blood this year.
HOME COOKIN: Ontario is tied for third in home victories in the AHL this season posting a 19-5-1-1 mark at Toyota Arena outscoring their opponents 91-70. They have a power-play goal in 12 straight games, 13-for-47 (27.7%). While allowing a power-play goal against in just two of their last eight games, 21-for-23. The Reign have won 10 of their last 11 on home ice in the year of 2026.
PROLIFIC PK: After going six straight games, 12-for-12, without allowing a power-play goal against, the Reign have surrendered a man advantage goal against in back-to-back games for the first time since games 26/27. They have allowed a power-play goal against in just three of their last 14 games (32-for-35), four of their last 18 (50-for-54), and six of their last 26 (68-for-76). They rank third in the AHL at 84.8%.
TIGHTLY CONTESTED: Of Ontario's 53 games this season, 24 of them have been determined by one-goal, with the Reign holding a 17-5-1-1 record having won eight of their last 10 games determined by just one goal.
TURNING THE PAGE: The Reign kicked off a busy month of March Sunday where they will play 13 games, six on home ice, seven on the road, with the 13 games coming in 28 days. Six of their first eight games will come at Toyota Arena with the final five taking place on the road. The longest Ontario will go in between games is three days. They will play Tucson and Henderson each three times, one home and two away, two games against Coachella Valley, one home, one away, a home game against Bakersfield, Colorado, and Abbotsford while playing two games in Iowa for a total of seven different opponents. Ontario went 6-3-0 in February outscoring their opponents 31-26 going 7-for-30 (23.3%) on the power-play and 17-for-19 (89.4%) on the penalty kill.
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