Special Teams Key for Reign in 4-2 Win over Heat
March 26, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Ontario Reign News Release
Ontario, CA - The Ontario Reign (39-15-4-1) defeated the Stockton Heat (27-27-2-2) 4-2 in front of a sellout crowd of 9,491 at Citizens Business Bank Arena on Friday night. With the victory, the Reign are now just one point away from clinching a berth in the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs.
"Nothing changes," said Head Coach Mike Stothers after the game. "We came in tonight with 10 games left. That's 10 victories. I expect us to win every game and that's not going to change."
It was a special teams battle from start to finish as Ontario went a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill in the first period alone. The Reign found the scoreboard first on their second power play of the night at 13:26. With defenseman Oliver Kylington in the box for slashing, forward Jonny Brodzinski chipped home a rebound from forward Michael Mersch. The Heat responded just over a minute later when defenseman Turner Elson stole the puck in the middle of the Reign zone and beat Reign netminder Peter Budaj with the unassisted marker at 14:44.
"It's nice to finally get the power play going," said Brodzinski. "It's crazy how things can change when you get that first goal or big power play goal."
The Reign went up 2-1 at 1:27 of the middle frame when forward Justin Auger fired one past Heat goaltender Kevin Poulin just moments after time expired on the power play. The unassisted goal marks the right winger's 16th of the season. At 11:55, forward Sean Backman launched in a one-timer off a feed from forward Kris Newbury to put Ontario up 3-1.
The Heat turned it up in the third period, scoring at 1:08 when defenseman Brett Kulak fired a shot past Budaj with help from forwards Hunter Shinkaruk and Morgan Klimchuk. Not to be outdone, Ontario tacked on an insurance goal at 8:32 as defenseman Jeff Schultz rocketed a shot from the blue line while on the power play. Defenseman Zach Leslie and forward Adrian Kempe were credited with the assists.
"We're treating every game as a playoff game," mentioned Brodzinski. "It's something that we look forward to the entire year. It's going to be nice to have that star next to our name."
Budaj came away with his AHL-leading 37th win of the season with 26 saves. Poulin took the loss, with 24 stops on 28 attempts.
American Hockey League Stories from March 26, 2016
- Heat Dethrone Reign To End Season-Long Trip In Style With 4-2 Win - Stockton Heat
- Crunch Eclipse Americans, 3-1 - Syracuse Crunch
- Martin Ouellette Records 38-Save Gem in 2-1 Win - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Street Leads Rampage Past Condors 3-0 - San Antonio Rampage
- Admirals Fall to Stars in Shoot-Out - Milwaukee Admirals
- Power Play Sparks Stars to 5-4 Shootout Win - Texas Stars
- Checkers' Offense Comes Through in Manitoba - Charlotte Checkers
- Griffins' Seven-Game Home Streak Snapped - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Condors Upended by San Antonio on the Road - Bakersfield Condors
- Monsters Cap Perfect Three-In-Three with 5-2 Win over Griffins - Cleveland Monsters
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Winning Streak Ends with 5-0 Loss to Providence - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Albany Devils Now Just One Point Shy of Playoff Berth - Albany Devils
- Lehigh Valley Edges Wolf Pack 2-1 - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Bears Defeat Devils in Shootout - Hershey Bears
- B-Sens Upended by Comets - Binghamton Senators
- Providence Shuts out the Penguins, 5-0 - Providence Bruins
- Comets Snap Skid in Explosive Fashion - Utica Comets
- Falcons Surrender Second Consecutive Game to Pirates - Springfield Falcons
- Avalanche Reassigns Mikko Rantanen to Rampage - San Antonio Rampage
- Toronto Marlies Post Game Notes - Toronto Marlies
- Jets Re-Assign Kichton - Manitoba Moose
- Wolves Nip Wild, 2-1, on the Road - Chicago Wolves
- IceCaps Sign Parisi to ATO - St. John's IceCaps
- Wolves Escape Des Moines with 2-1 Victory - Iowa Wild
- IceCaps Dropped by Marlies - St. John's IceCaps
- Minnesota Wild Signs Defenseman Nick Seeler to An Entry-Level Contract - Iowa Wild
- Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Slater Koekkoek and Joel Vermin, Reassign Brian Hart to Syracuse Crunch - Syracuse Crunch
- Ontario Reign Chasing Playoff Clinching Scenarios Tonight - Ontario Reign
- Heat Wrap up Season-Long Five-Game Road Trip in Ontario - Stockton Heat
- Goaltender Nick Schneider Set to Join Heat - Stockton Heat
- Checkers Sign Pair of Forwards - Charlotte Checkers
- Flames Assign Tyler Wotherspoon to Stockton - Stockton Heat
- Moose Sign Brandon Denham - Manitoba Moose
- Reign Take on Heat on San Antonio Regional Hospital Night - Ontario Reign
- Phantoms Sign F Oskar Lindblom to ATO - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Ontario Reign Game Preview: Reign Take on Heat on San Antonio Regional Hospital Night - Ontario Reign
- Special Teams Key for Reign in 4-2 Win over Heat - Ontario Reign
- Heat Battle Hard in 4-2 Defeat in Ontario - Stockton Heat
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
