Reign Preview 4/1 - Ontario at Coachella Valley
Published on April 1, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release
WHO: Ontario Reign (41-19-3-2) at Coachella Valley (37-21-5-0)
WHAT: AHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME #66/72
WHEN: Wednesday, April 1 @ 6:30 Pacific
WHERE: Acrisure Arena - Palm Desert, CA
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FloHockey - AUDIO: Reign Radio - TWITTER: @ReignInsider & @OntarioReign
TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: The Ontario Reign kick-off the month of April with a road matchup in Palm Desert tonight taking on the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR ONTARIO: The Reign wrapped up the month of March with a series split in Tucson over the weekend collecting a 3-2 win on Friday, becoming the first team in the Pacific Division to clinch a spot into the Calder Cup Playoffs, before falling 4-2 on Saturday. Ontario finished March going 7-3-2-1 across their 13 games scoring 35 goals while allowing 33 as Martin Chromiak led all skaters with 10 points (7G, 3A). With 87 points, Ontario holds a one point lead on Colorado for the division lead, while the Reign will have six games to play after this evening and the Eagles will have seven as they're in Bakersfield tonight.
- Ontario has collected a point in 13 of their last 16 games, 10-3-2-1, dating back to Feb. 18.
- Tonight marks the end of six straight games on the road for the Reign as they've notched a point in six of their last nine, 5-3-1, holding a 19-14-1 road record. After this evening Ontario will play five of their final six games at Toyota Arena where they've posted a 22-5-2-2 mark.
- 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 10 straight after doing so in their previous six.
- Ontario has a power-play goal in three of their last four games, 4-for-12, after going seven straight games without a man advantage goal, 0-for-15. They're 25-9-1 when scoring one power-play goal in a game this season and 8-2-0 when scoring two or more-man advantage goals in a game. The Reign have allowed a power-play goal against in five of their last six games, 22-for-27.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR COACHELLA VALLEY: The Firebirds ride a five-game win streak into this evening's matchup with a pair of wins in Colorado two weekends ago, a victory over Calgary last Wednesday, and a two-game series sweep vs. San Jose this past weekend winning 4-2 on Saturday and 4-1 on Sunday. Coachella Valley is one of the hottest teams in the AHL currently having won nine of their last 10 games sitting in fourth place with 79 points and eight games remaining after tonight. They posted a 9-2-0 record during March as Lleyton Roed (6G, 6A) and Gustav Olofsson (2G, 9A) led the way offensively with 11 points each.
- During their five-game win streak the Firebirds have outscored their opponents 22-10 having scored four or more goals in each game while holding the opposition to two or fewer goals in four of the five contests.
- In their last 10 games Coachella Valley has outscored their opponents 30-20.
- Tonight marks the fourth straight home game for the Firebirds as they have won seven straight at Acrisure Arena holding a 19-10-3 record on home ice this season.
HEAD-TO-HEAD SERIES: Ontario holds a 2-1-2 record vs. Coachella Valley this season including 1-0-1 at Acrisure Arena. Coachella Valley has won three straight against Ontario including a pair of overtime victories in mid-March. The Reign have been outscored 16-12 in the series as they've gone just 2-for-15 on the power-play but a perfect 13-for-13 on the penalty kill. Cole Guttman leads the way offensively for Ontario with four points (2G, 2A) in the series while Lleyton Roed has five points (3G, 2A) for Coachella Valley.
Jan. 3, 2026: Ontario (3) vs. Coachella Valley (2)
Jan. 23, 2026: Ontario (3) at Coachella Valley (2) OT
Feb. 1, 2026: Ontario (1) vs. Coachella Valley (5)
Mar. 13, 2026: Ontario (2) at Coachella Valley (3) OT
MAr. 14, 2026: Ontario (3) vs. Coachella Valley (4) OT
BETWEEN TWO PIPES: For Ontario, Erik Portillo tied a season high with 36 saves on Saturday in a 4-2 loss at Tucson as he suffered his fifth straight loss, 0-3-1-1 since Mar. 11, after winning four in a row. Pheonix Copley picked up his third straight win last Friday as he has made 73 saves on 77 shots in his last three contests. He is 6-0-1 in his last seven games with a 1.97 goals against average and .920 save percentage and 8-1-1 in his last 10 with a 2.28 GAA and .905 SV%. In his last six victories he has allowed two or fewer goals in five of six games. For Coachella Valley, Victor Östman made 36 saves on 37 shots in a 4-1 win vs. San Jose on Sunday as he has won four straight with a 1.97 GAA and .922 SV%. Nikke Kokko made 40 saves on 42 shots Saturday in a 4-2 win on Saturday for his third straight victory where he allowed two goals in each game holding a 2.01 GAA and .935 SV%. He is 5-1-0 in his last six starts and in his last nine wins he has allowed two goals in each game.
TEAM LEADERS:
Ontario
Points: Martin Chromiak (49)
Goals: Andre Lee (25)
Assists Nikita Alexandrov (36)
Coachella Valley
Points: Logan Morrison (57)
Goals: Logan Morrison (27)
Assists: Jagger Forks (34)
TEAM NOTES:
Ontario
Goals For: 11th (3.25)
Goals Against: 8th (2.72)
Power-Play: 8th (20.6%)
Penalty Kill: 2nd (85.1%)
Coachella Valley
Goals For: 3rd (3.40)
Goals Against: 11th (3.02)
Power-Play: 25th (16.1%)
Penalty Kill: 23rd (80.3%)
INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
Ontario
Martin Chromiak has five points (3G, 2A) in his last four games and 12 points (8G, 4A) in his last 14.
Koehn Ziemmer has five points (3G, 2A) in his last seven games.
Nikita Alexandrov has five points (1G, 4A) in his last six games.
Aatu Jämsen has seven points (4G, 3A) in his last seven games.
Coachella Valley
Gustav Olofsson has a three-game point streak (4A) and 11 points (2G, 9A) in his last 11 games.
Lleyton Roed has a goal in back-to-back games and a point in six of his last eight (4G, 5A).
Jani Nyman has a point in 15 of his last 20 games (14G, 8A).
Mitchell Stephens has a four-game point streak (1G, 3A).
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