Reign Trapped by Grizzlies in 4-3 Shootout Loss
November 9, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Ontario Reign News Release
ONTARIO, Calif. - The Ontario Reign (5-3-0-2), four-time Pacific Division Champions and proud affiliate of the NHL's 2014 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets, fell in the shootout to the Utah Grizzlies (3-4-1-1) by a 4-3 score in front of a crowd of 8,639 on Saturday night at Citizens Business Bank Arena.
One minute into the contest, the Grizzlies got on the board after Mathieu Aubin dropped the puck back into the slot, and Michael Pelech fired the puck past Reign goaltender Joe Cannata.
Norm Ezekiel knotted things up for Ontario shortly thereafter, as he drove towards the net, and his rebound made its way back to Matt Register, who then fed the puck back across to Ezekiel, who snapped it above the shoulder of Brandon Maxwell at 4:05.
Tristan King gave the Reign a 2-1 lead at 17:14, after he knocked a rebound from Register past Maxwell.
Soon after Ontario had pulled ahead, defenseman Jeff May was whistled for a cross-checking penalty. On the resulting play Howard Lenz received a behind-the-net feed from Barry Almeida and tipped his shot past Cannata to tie the score at 2-2.
Early in the second period, Maxim Kitsyn put the Reign ahead with a tremendous individual effort that includes a toe-drag past Myles Harvey, completing the play by rifling the puck high to the glove side of Maxwell at 1:09.
A scary play at the 8:46 mark resulted in Grizzlies defenseman Mike Folks heading to the dressing room for repairs and Reign forward Rocco Carzo receiving a boarding major and a game misconduct. Despite being forced to kill the five minute penalty, Ontario held the Utah offense at bay for the remainder of the frame.
In the third period Mathieu Aubin received a long stretch pass from Patrick Wellar and broke in on Cannata, snapping one home to even the score at 10:07.
No further score would occur in regulation or overtime, and the game ultimately went to a shootout. Aubin and Almeida each scored in the shootout, while Maxwell turned aside all four attempts from Ontario to end the game.
Cannata took the shootout loss with 23 saves; Maxwell earned the victory with 15 stops.
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