Ontario Reign Lose Last Game In Weekend Road Trip Series

(photo credit: Standout Imagery)

The Ontario Reign ended their nine-game road trip with their second loss at 2-1 to the Colorado Eagles. They turned their luck around a bit after their last game that resulted in a shutout but it just was not enough to win Saturday’s game.

After the shutout loss against the Eagles on Friday, Saturday’s game was their chance to do something different and turn things around. Colorado took a ton of penalties on Friday night and Ontario could have used that to their advantage. The Eagles had a total of 36 minutes in the sin bin, which was the most minutes for any team the Reign had to face this season. The Reign also has been seeing power-play troubles and if the Eagles were as undisciplined as before, Ontario could have used that as a chance to try to get more power-plays and actually score.

Things looked up in the first period for the Reign. A failed breakout for the Eagles gave Reign left winger Everett Sheen the perfect chance for a score. His first shot rebounded off of Eagles goaltender Clarke Saunders but Sheen took it again and made the goal that time around at 1:37. Their early lead did not last very long as Colorado woke up and was ready to rumble. The Eagles avenged the score with a power-play goal at 7:51 when Jordan Kwas took a rebound that was originally shot from Derek Rodwell and got it right past through Reign goaltender Jussi Olkinuora. The first ended in a tie with 12 shots on goal from Ontario and eight from Colorado.

The second period did not go any easier for Ontario. Eagles’ Nathan Moon brought Colorado to the lead by scoring on a subsequent penalty shot at 17:28. Both teams fought all the way to the end but Ontario just could not catch a break. The second ended with zero shots on goal for the Reign while the Eagles had five.

The third period was the last chance for the Reign to step their game up, especially after that second period. Ontario took the chance by pulling Olkinuora for an extra attacker with the hopes of evening out the game at the last minute. The extra man was just not the key and the period ended at 2-1 with no other goals from both teams. Olkinuora took the loss with 19 saves while Saunders stayed on top with 32.

The Ontario Reign will be taking a break from their long road trip and will be back at home against the Colorado Eagles once again on Dec. 5 and 6.