ONTARIO, Calif. -- Defender Luke Rowe scored his first goal of the season in Ontario Reign’s 4-1 win over the Tucson Roadrunners at Toyota Arena Wednesday night.
“He’s (Rowe) a guy that prides himself on playing hard and defending well,” Jeff Malott said in postgame interviews. “And making it difficult for them. So when he can have an opportunity to bring forth some of the skills he’s been working on in practice and get pucks through, it’s awesome for him to get to chip in and get a goal…it’s something he’s been working on consistently.”
Charles Hudon tallied three points tonight with a goal and two assists. When asked about his offensive impact, coach Marco Sturm said he’s a smart player who creates a lot of room in the offensive zone by pushing the pace forward.
The physicality between both teams showed up early as Jacob Doty and Curtis Douglas had their fists up swinging and holding one another’s jerseys just one minute into the game.
Tucson struck first as Robbie Russo put them on the board 3:54 into the opening period.
The Roadrunners did not let up on their defensive front, consistently breaking up passes between Ontario’s players.
But that game plan seemed to get away from Tucson as the game progressed.
Hudon was able to net his 16th goal thanks to Reilly Walsh’s assist, tying the score 1-1.
Period two was all Ontario as they out-shot Tucson 14 to 4 and added two goals, one from Rowe and another by Malott - giving them a comfortable lead heading into the third.
Recently, the Reign have struggled with letting their opponent back into the game and not finishing strong, but tonight was different.
Malott said focusing on closing games out going into the third was something the team emphasized a lot this week.
And his offense tonight showed that to be true.
Five minutes into the final period, Malott scored his second goal of the night and his 15th goal of the season, giving Ontario any insurance goals they may have needed.
Goalie Pheonix Copley had 21 saves in Ontario’s 4-1 victory over Tucson, creating a wall in front of him in which the puck only got past him once.
“When they (the Reign) keep it simple, do their job, they’re very dangerous,” coach Sturm said. “And they showed it again today.”
Ontario moves up into third place in the AHL Pacific Division with 57 points and a 27-14-2-1 record.
Ontario will travel to the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB as they take on the first place Calgary Wranglers Saturday at 1 p.m.