Friday night at Citizens Business Bank Arena, the Reign closed out their first round series against the San Jose Barracuda by a game score of 4-1, and a series score of 3-1.
While it certainly does not have the same satisfaction for Kings fans as beating the San Jose Sharks, it was a solid series win for a hard working, tireless Ontario Reign team. On the back of determination, a full team effort, and strong defensive work, the Reign took the overall series against the bottom seeded San Jose Sharks affiliate in convincing fashion.
Kings prospect Nic Dowd finished the series, leading the team in points with four in four games. His two goals in the series came at critical junctures in both Thursday's Game 3 and Friday's Game 4. He potted the game winning goal in Game 3 and the first goal of the game in Game 4.
Jonny Brodzinski was also a major factor during the San Jose's home portion of the series, scoring the game winning goal of Game 1, and combining for 14 shots in the first three games of the series.
In a role he has not been too familiar with for the majority of the regular season, Adrian Kempe shifted to center for the series due to injuries to regular centers Andrew Crescenzi, Brett Sutter, and Ryan Horvat. The returns have looked strong, as Kempe's speed and skill had a massive impact in Games 3 and 4, where he was one of the best players on the ice.
When asking Stothers about Kempe's speed down the middle,
"I like his speed. It just seems that in the last couple games he’s utilized it more. I look at an individual that has that capability and if you watch him and you come to practice every day and you watch him, and he’s on the wing, which he has been most of the year, you’re blown away. He just gets around the ice, it’s effortless. It’s Mach 1. It’s incredible the way he can skate."
Stothers also mentioned how the young Swede has perhaps showed up at the right time...and that is not something entirely unfamiliar from Kempe.
"The last two games, maybe the fact that he knew that we needed a big effort and big performance out of him because we were short on centers, maybe he brought it out. … Maybe he’s just one of those guys that elevates his game during the playoffs. There’s a lot of guys, the regular season’s important to them, but the playoffs, that’s what gets their juices flowing, they’re money. I’m not saying he’s Justin Williams, but you know what I mean, he’s a big-moment player. I don’t want to anoint him this soon, but my goodness, he is fabulous to watch."
Kempe's blazing speed and sharp wrist shot were perhaps most prominently on display in Game 3, as Kris Newbury sprung him on a 2v1.
It was Kempe's second of the evening. He wrapped up the series with eight shots and two goals in four games.
However, for Ontario it often comes down to the role players. It is a team that scores by committee, and the committee was active. While not a high scoring series by any stretch, the Reign did get goals from seven different player throughout the series. If Nic Dowd was not having a big game, it was Justin Auger or Andrew Crescenzi, or Jordan Samuels-Thomas. The three aforementioned players combined for three goals and six points in Friday night's 4-1 victory.
On top of producing offensively, all three players are major factors in the Reign penalty kill, which was a perfect 9-for-9 in the series. Active sticks, aggressive checking, and laying out the body for shot blocks are not an uncommon site for the blue collar members of the Reign.
If I had a dollar for every time Jordan Samuels-Thomas went all in for a shot block this year and hobbled to the bench...
Justin Auger was well aware of his role and contribution in the series, and summed it up well post game
"It’s big in playoffs. You’re going to have injuries going down the run and you need your third- and fourth-line guys to step up. A guy like Mike [Amadio] coming in there, playing some big minutes for us, that’s huge. We got a couple centermen out right now that are a little banged up and him coming in and playing a solid game, looks like he’s been here all year. It’s huge, you can’t depend on your first- and second-line guys every night. You need your third and fourth-line guys to come out and contribute."
The Reign bench boss was extremely complimentary of the massive 6'8" winger, talking about how he has elevated his game this season.
"He’s another guy that’s a little bit of a sleeper. We don’t talk about him enough. You guys don’t talk about him enough. I can say he’s really grown and you’re going to say, well he’s 6-9. But his development and where he’s at right now, this guy’s come a long way. You always as a coach, in your mind you pick guys on your team that you think are going to elevate their play, he was one of them. I think this is Augey’s year to step up."
Speaking of one of Auger's linemates for Games 3 and 4, the young Mike Amadio has not looked out of place whatsoever. He was, however, protected heavily in the latter stages of Game 4 as he struggled at the dots.
ONT faceoffs tonight (W/L): Kempe 11-6, Amadio 1-8, Newbury 0-1, Biss 1-1, Backman 1-0, Crescenzi 11-5, Dowd 7-10
Other than that though, Amadio looked comfortable with the pace of the AHL. He had several strong shifts in his first two pro level games. Between the towering Justin Auger and Jordan Samuels-Thomas, the 19-year old had some great zone time, with cycling, rotations, and tireless puck pursuit. He also keeps well aware of his role on the ice and dropped back to safely cover and disrupt opposing breakouts numerous times. His reads of the game look very strong, as does his passing ability. He came dangerously close to registering his first pro points with a couple of nice set ups and net front scramble opportunities. If not for the sometimes heroic efforts of Barracuda netminder Aaron Dell, he may very well have been celebrating a first pro goal.
After Game 3 Stothers noted that, "I liked Amadio in the fact that he made some plays. He looked fairly comfortable in his first action."
He also mentioned that we would see where he was for his second game, since that is usually more challenging than the first. Early returns seem to be that the former North Bay center could be a more impactful player for the Reign than previously thought when called up. The Reign have a week or so to get healthy before a rough and tumble San Diego team comes in, and he may be on the chopping block if Horvat and Sutter get healed up.
All in all it was a complete team effort of a series from Ontario. They got strong defensive contributions from their entire blueline squad of Gravel, Forbort, Schultz, LoVerde, Raine, and MacDermid, on top of routinely solid goaltending from Peter Budaj. Budaj turned away 74 of 80 shots in the first round for a .925 save percentage in four games. The Reign overall smothered the Barracuda in the neutral and defensive zone, limiting them to just 20 shots a night on average.
Moving forward, the Reign will face a MUCH stiffer challenge in the San Diego Gulls. It is often cliche to say two teams do not like each other, but the Gulls and the Reign have a special brand of distaste for each other. The Gulls blend a strong young nucleus of players like Montour, Ritchie, Kerdiles, Kase, and Theodore, around a rugged and nasty group of grizzled vets like Corey Tropp, Shane O'Brien, Brian McGrattan, Stu Bickel, and Tim Jackman. This will not be a series for the feint of heart.
Not to mention the....awkward...format of the next round.
As Stothers mentioned post game though, the strangeness of the series format is no excuse.
The Reign start up at home this coming Thursday night for a 2nd round with the Ducks affiliate that should have plenty of fireworks. We will continue to update the progress of the Ontario Reign as they look to repeat as AHL champions. They are off on the right foot so far with all hands to the pump.
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