Leila El Sabbagh
Sports Editor
The Ontario Reign decked Toyota Arena out in green for their Hockey is for Everyone: Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration on Sunday against the Henderson Silver Knights.
Not only did the Reign need the luck of the Irish, but they needed goaltender Pheonix Copley’s North Pole magic to put away the Silver Knights in a shootout, 3-2.
“It doesn’t feel like it but at the end of the day it’s always nice to have two points,” Reign head coach Marco Sturm said. “You gotta enjoy every one, but just the way that the game turned out we shouldn’t be happy. We just have a different standard now.”
Fans by the thousands sported green Reign jerseys to match the team. The special themed jerseys read “Inland Empire” with a gold crown in the middle. The jerseys were auctioned off with the profits being donated towards the San Bernardino Humane Society.
There were plenty of activities provided out on the Toyota Arena patio for fans to get into the Saint Patrick’s Day spirit. Stations for creating your own four leaf clover out of a cleaning pipe and beading were available at one table, and writing your own sign was available at another.
“Usually for the Ice Crew we’re helping out as much as we can,” Reign Ice Crew member Samantha Pahia said. “Sometimes we’ll come up here to the patio and do little activities. This is my first year with the Reign and my first Saint Patty’s day game so I’m really excited.”
Bagpipe music was heard throughout the halls from live bagpipe players. Performer Mick Rose was invited to play during intermissions to continue the Saint Patrick’s day experience.
As the Reign were playing their rival in the AHL’s Pacific Division rival, many fans were ready to see a competitive and fast paced game.
“I’m working tomorrow so I’m looking to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day tonight,” Reign fan Savannah Garcia said. “I’m looking forward to seeing all the colors on the ice and what everyone decides to wear.”
The first period was a great precursor to the entire game. Nearly half way into the period, Reign defenseman Jakub Dvořák took a hooking penalty but Ontario was able to kill it off.
Shortly after, Silver Knights defenseman Joe Fleming took a slashing penalty that resulted in a Reign power play goal by forward Jack Studnicka assisted by forwards Samuel Fagemo and Martin Chromiak.
The period ended with another Silver Knights penalty killed off and a small scrum that needed to be broken up.
The Reign began the second period with a strong rally that was ultimately broken up by the Silver Knights. Studnicka was a prominent player throughout the period, adding a couple more shot attempts to put pressure on Silver Knights goaltender Akira Schmid.
Copley was challenged a little more this period with Henderson putting up eight shots and all of them being strong chances. However, Copley denied every shot taken.
“We feel very comfortable in front of Pheonix,” forward Martin Chromiak said. “We know he’s going to make those saves to help the team. He’s always behind us, helping us and bailing us out.”
Nearing eight minutes to go in the second, forward Andre Lee made a behind the back between the legs pass to Studnicka giving the Reign a two-on-one opportunity that Chromiak banked in, giving them their second goal of the night.
Ontario spent the rest of the period killing off a too many men on the ice penalty but were gifted a Silver Knights double minor penalty for high sticking to start the third period.
After a long possession in the Reign zone by the Silver Knights, they scored their first goal of the game. Forward Braeden Bowman was assisted by defenseman Robert Hägg.
In the final minute of the period, the Silver Knights pulled their tender to have even strength after a hooking penalty. Henderson kept the game alive and sent it into overtime when forward Tanner Laczynski scored to tie it up after two empty net attempts by Ontario were unsuccessful.
The game was sent to a shootout where Copley shut down the Silver Knights. Reign forward Glenn Gawdin and left wing Jeff Malott put their shot attempts past Schmid, sealing the game for Ontario.
This win updated the Reign’s record to 34-19-3 with one shootout loss. Their next home game will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday against the Tucson Roadrunners at Toyota Arena.
Leila El Sabbagh can be reached at leila.elsabbagh@laverne.edu.
Leila El Sabbagh is the sports editor for the Campus Times. She is a sophomore journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism who aspires to be a sports broadcaster. She has previously served as a staff writer for the Campus Times.
Chris Rogers is a junior photography major with a minor in art history. He is a staff photographer for the Campus Times and photography editor of La Verne Magazine. He is also a freelance photographer and movie stills photographer. He discovered his love for photography at a young age as he and his family traveled the world in their goal to reach all seven continents. They were fortunate to reach their seventh continent in the winter of 2019. He have a deep love for photography and loves being able to tell an entire story through one still image at a time. His work can be found at ChrisRogersPhotography.com.
