Ontario Reign: Three Takeaways From 3-2 OT Victory Over Calgary

They did it again! The Ontario Reign completed another comeback with an overtime win over the Calgary Wranglers.

Packed our brooms for this trip.

#ReignTrain I #ONTvsCGY pic.twitter.com/nZ6IagnkYx Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) February 18, 2025 Goal Breakdown First period: CGY: PP Jeremie Poirier (4), ASST: Rory Kerins (16), Martin Frk (24) CGY: Martin Frk (20), ASST: Hunter Brzustewicz (16), Rory Kerins (17) Second period: ONT: Glenn Gawdin (15), ASST: Jeff Malott (23), Charles Hudon (24) Third period: ONT: PP Martin Chromiak (9), ASST: Jeff Malott (24), Charles Hudon (25) Overtime: ONT: Jeff Malott (16), ASST: Jack Studnicka (16), Joe Hicketts (21) Stats Goals: ONT: 3 CGY: 2 Shots: ONT: 30 CGY: 26 Power plays: ONT: 1/6 CGY: 1/5 Here are the three takeaways from yesterdays overtime victory Erik Portillo gets the start again Marco Sturm has gone with a goalie rotation for the past month (except the February 1st and 8th games) but went against that yesterday afternoon.

Erik Portillo got the nod between the pipes again, while the Wranglers tabbed Devin Cooley as their starter, A rematch from Saturdays contest.

The game had an almost identical start, with Calgary scoring first and taking a two-goal lead.

For Portillo, it was a similar story entering Saturday with him trying to turn the tide.

The two goals Portillo surrendered were on a five-on-three for the Wranglers and a defensive breakdown on a broken play that left Martin Frk wide open in front of Portillo.

However, there were several instances especially in the opening frame where he allowed a big rebound or lost track of the puck.

Luckily, neither of those instances came back to bite him.

The closest one was Parker Bells shot attempt on a rebound hitting the post.

Rebound control is an area that has been a work in progress for Portillo since he joined the organization.

While it didnt hurt him yesterday, it was noticeable.

As for the result, Portillo made 24 saves on 26 shots.

It was the first time he surrendered less than three goals in a game since January 24th (five starts).

Being the fiery competitor Portillo is, nobody wants to get out of this slump more than he does.

Perhaps a win like this can bring that confidence level back up.

The big boys came to play The top line for both sides made an impact in this game.

In the opening 20 minutes, Calgarys top trio of Frk, Rory Kerins, and Dryden Hunt combined for four points a goal and an assist for both Kerins and Frk on a five-on-three and five-on-five goal.

For Frk, it was his fourth point of this two-game series.

Right place, right time pic.twitter.com/i2iPeY4lQC Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) February 17, 2025 He shoots, he scores pic.twitter.com/YskkHo88Yp Calgary Wranglers (@AHLWranglers) February 17, 2025 Ontarios top line got in on the action the rest of the way.

Glenn Gawdin got the Reign on the board with a backhand attempt that floated past Cooley after the Wranglers couldnt get possession after a faceoff in their end.

It was Gawdins 100th career AHL goal, and Jeff Malott and Charles Hudon got the assists.

OH MY GAWD, what a backhand! #ReignTrain I #ONTvsCGY pic.twitter.com/W8lFOr0BHk Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) February 17, 2025 Malott and Hudon would also get the assists on Martin Chromiaks power-play goal early in the third period to tie the game.

If youre keeping score at home, that is one five-on-three and five-on-five goal for each side.

Malotts goal in overtime would break that tie on his third primary point of the game, giving the Reign a consecutive overtime win against the Wranglers.

Jeff just gave us MALOTT to celebrate.

#ReignTrain I #ONTvsCGY pic.twitter.com/rWLKhOAoMK Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) February 18, 2025 The top three scorers from both sides made an impact, and its no secret why all are in the top 20 in league scoring.

How sweep it is The Reign traveled north of the border and will come back south with a sweep.

Ontario never led, trailed by two goals on at least one, and entered the third period trailing.

Through all that, they somehow managed to pull off the sweep and hand Calgary a pair of losses when leading after 40 minutes.

Character and resiliency would be the best way to describe these two comeback victories for the Reign.

To be able to do that against the team at the top of the division who are wheeling at the moment in their building speaks volumes.

The trio of Malott, Gawdin, and Hudon led the way offensively yesterday mixed in with a Martin Chromiak power-play goal and are a big reason why Ontario is in second place, two points behind the Wranglers for the division.

With these two games having a playoff feel and chippiness in them, wins like these can give a team confidence they can win any game, no matter the scenario or opponent.

However, Ontario would like to make things easier as they have allowed the first goal in three straight and trailed 2-0 at one point in both games in this series.

NOTES: *Calgary has scored first in all five meetings and is outscoring Ontario 6-1 (+5) in the opening frame.

*Cole Krygier got injured in the second period and didnt return.

He hobbled off the ice, favoring his right leg.

*Gawdin finally reached the 100-career goal plateau in the AHL.

*Malotts three-point afternoon was his second of the season.

He has nine points during this five-game point streak of his (6 G, 3 A).

*Hicketts extended his point streak to four games with a secondary assist on Malotts overtime goal (1 G, 4 A).

*Charles Hudon extended his point streak to six games with two secondary assists (3 G, 6 A).

*Martin Chromiaks ninth goal of the season tied the game early in the third period on a five-on-three power play for the Reign.

Game: tied.

Courtesy of Chromiak.

#ReignTrain I #ONTvsCGY pic.twitter.com/A1k8A1k2z4 Ontario Reign (@ontarioreign) February 17, 2025 *The 26 shots on goal from the Wranglers are the most in any of the five games against the Reign this season.

UP NEXT: The Ontario Reign returns to California with a road matchup against the San Jose Barracuda.

The game starts at 7 PM PST and can be seen on FloSports (FloHockey).

You can also listen to the game on the ESPN LA app or ontarioreign.com/radio .

This article first appeared on Hockey Royalty and was syndicated with permission..

This article has been shared from the original article on yardbarker, here is the link to the original article.