The Ontario Reign had one of their most exciting nights of the year yesterday, facing off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Teddy Bear Toss night.
A sold-out Toyota Arena full of anticipation and buzz, everyone with at least one plush toy in their hand.
It did not start according to plan, as Lleyton Roed and Brandon Biro gave the Firebirds a two-goal lead in the first period.
Ontario seemed to be pressing for that first goal and reaped the consequences in the first period.
Things turned around in the second when Samuel Fagemo scored the goal to send the teddy bears flying onto the ice.
Fagemo also caught one of the bears flying down at center ice, a true celebratory showman.
It was all Ontario from there, as Jeff Malott would tie the game up at two, tallying a goal from out in front, followed by Jacob Doty scoring his third goal of the year.
After a horrendous first period in which Ontario looked slow and tired, they scored three unanswered goals in the second, all from different lines.
One goal, from the screeching hot Shawn Element, gave the Reign a 4-2 lead in the fourth period.
It would stay that way until the final buzzer, a 4-2 win on Teddy Bear Toss night, and a clean 4-0 sweep against the top 3 teams in the division this week.
Here are my three takeaways from this game
Resilience
The Ontario Reign is currently on a six-game winning streak. However, Ontario has been down in all six of those games.
Both forward Jeff Malott and defenseman Caleb Jones were shocked to hear this stat, responding with “really?” in the same tone while smiling.
It’s a true testament to how resilient this team is. They are never out of a game, no matter how bad it might seem.
Ontario was outplayed in the first period of this game. They looked slow and a step behind, and the Firebirds were all over them.
Marco Sturm Does Wonders
Something changed in the second period. Jones said head coach Marco Sturm is a “pretty calm guy” and “just says they need to get their game tomorrow” when a period like that happens.
Malott described Sturm as a player-coach, saying Sturm has good “communication” and “patience.”
It’s unbelievable that a team like the Reign, which lost seemingly all of its best players from last year and had an improbable playoff run, can be even better the following year.
Credit needs to go to Marco Sturm, who got the players to “buy in” to a system created by Sturm.
In his postgame interview, Malott frequently used the term “buy-in ” and said Sturm did a great job “weathering that rocky start” at the beginning of the season.
Contributors Everywhere
Last Sunday, Aatu Jamsen was awarded a Gordie Howe hat trick against the San Jose Barracuda.
Jacob Doty got the same award in this game, getting a Gordie Howe hat trick of his own.
Doty is having another career year, having already eight points in just 14 games played.
Last season, Doty broke his career high in points, with 10 in 57 games.
Along with Shawn Element, he is another guy who has been outstanding on the fourth line during this win streak.
Element tallied two goals and one assist this week, dating back to last Wednesday against the Calgary Wranglers.
Overall, from lines one through four, the Reign have been spectacular, playing great defense and having spectacular offensive output.
