ONTARIO, Calif. -- The Ontario Reign rode forward Samuel Fagemo’s hot hand to a victory against the Texas Stars, 4-0, Friday night at Toyota Arena.
The Reign — playing the Stars for the first time since the 2018-19 season — held the second-highest scoring offense in the AHL without a goal.
“We kept it really clean and short. Sometimes, you got to punt it away and chip it away because they don’t like it,” said coach Marco Sturm. “They like the open game and for the most part we did a good job.”
Fagemo’s first goal — which put the Reign up 2-0 in the first period — was an unlikely one, shot from the far right corner and snuck past Stars goalie Remi Poirier.
“I got pretty lucky there,” Fagemo said. “My first goal is always to get the puck to the net.”
Fagemo, who also scored Ontario’s third goal early in the third period, leads the team in scoring with nine goals on the season.
Other Reign with goals included Aatu Jamsen, who opened the scoring for Ontario in the first period, and Kaleb Lawrence, who scored to put the team up four.
Lawrence, Jack Millar, Tyler Madden, Martin Chromiak and Shawn Element picked up assists, with Jack Studnicka recording two.
The Reign started Pheonix Copley in net for just his second appearance this season. He picked up a clean sheet, saving 27 shots.
“We just kind of had to gut out a win. It wasn’t always pretty,” Copley said. “It was just one of those games that was kind of choppy at times but we found a way.”
Copley started Friday in part because goalie Erik Portillo made his NHL debut with the Los Angeles Kings, earning the win, 2-1, and saving 29-of-30 shots.
Sturm said he watched the first period of Portillo’s debut and said the team was happy to see him doing well.
Fagemo, who’s known Portillo since they were 14, said he texted him before and after the game and said his debut was “special.”
“I know he’s probably nervous, and excited, too, at the same time, and we know Ports and sometimes he wants it too much and too badly,” Sturm said. “I thought he was pretty good in the first. I was really happy, guys were happy.”
With the win, the Reign improved their record to 9-7-0 and have won three straight. Next, they’ll travel north to take on the Bakersfield Condors.
Puck drop is at 7 p.m. Saturday.