“With hard work the results will take care of themselves”: OJR split weekend with loss and OT win

Fresh off the Ice in Paradise showcase, the Ontario Jr. Reign were back in action on Friday and Saturday, taking on the San Diego Sabers and the Lake Tahoe Lakers. The I-5 rivalry saw the Sabers take down the Jr. Reign for the first time this season, but the boys were able to bounce back at home in an overtime thriller.

In the first game, Niko Charles got his fourth start of the season in Carlsbad, where he had a busy day.

From the opening faceoff, both sides tested the opposing goaltender, but to no avail until Teleios Zermenio broke through, scoring his first goal of the season. A shot from Dylan Gerber in the right circle rebounded right to Zermenio’s stick, allowing him to place the puck past the goalie, putting Ontario up 1-0 with just under eight and a half minutes to go in the first period.

The Sabers responded quickly with a breakaway just four minutes later, leveling the game at 1-1. The first period ended 1-1, with Charles making 16 saves. 

The second period saw a lot of back-and-forth action, as neither goalie was willing to concede a go-ahead goal. The Jr. Reign had two power-play opportunities midway through the period, but they were unable to convert.

Unlike Ontario, the Sabers capitalized on their own power play directly off a faceoff from the right circle, giving them a 2-1 lead with under four minutes left in the period. The Jr. Reign responded quickly as the Sabers failed to clear the puck from their defensive zone. Gerber found Darian Sinclair, who floated toward the middle of the ice and fired a shot past the goaltender to bring the score back to 2-2, marking Sinclair’s fourth goal of the season and Gerber’s second assist of the night.

As time wound down, the Sabers forced a turnover in the neutral zone, leading to a one-on-one chance against Charles. The Sabers scored, taking a 3-2 lead as the period expired. 

Ontario applied pressure in the third period, searching for an equalizer, but the Jr. Reign hurt themselves with three penalties, giving the Sabers power-play opportunities.

 Neither team added to the score, and the Sabers held on for their first win over Ontario this season, with a final score of 3-2.

Charles ended the night with 47 saves on 50 shots, giving him a 2-2 overall record. Looking to bounce back, the Jr. Reign faced a big task in taking on the Lake Tahoe Lakers, who sit at the top of the Pacific Division.

“Anybody can beat anybody on any given night, and really it just comes down to execution,” said head coach Jeremy Blumes.

Domenik McInenly got the start in goal for his fourth game of the season, as he, too, had a lot of work to do. From the opening draw, the Lakers were on the front foot, spending a lot of time in the Ontario defensive zone, but the Jr. Reign defensemen and McInenly were able to clear their lines.

As the first period progressed, the Jr. Reign settled down and created some chances, though none that the Lakers' goalie couldn’t handle.

With under a minute left in the period, the Jr. Reign found themselves on a 5-on-3 penalty kill, which they defended effectively until the clock ran out.

During the first intermission, the Jr. Reign were honored to have young figure skating superstar Mila Jane perform. Her performance was amazing, energizing the crowd for the next period.

The second period began 5-on-3, and as soon as the Jr. Reign killed one penalty, it became 5-on-4. Just seconds later, the Lakers scored a power-play goal off a deflection from a screening attacker. A minute later, the Lakers added another goal on a 2-on-2 breakaway, making it 2-0 in just over two minutes of play.

Ontario settled in, creating opportunities and finally capitalized on a power play. Jesiah Bennett scored after a shot from Sinclair caused chaos in front of the net, allowing Bennett to put away the rebound. 

With momentum on their side, Ontario continued pressing, and Denver Craig tied the game with a hard shot that flipped over the goalie and into the net. Both teams entered the second intermission tied at two.

Just before the halfway mark in the third period, Craig intercepted the puck in the neutral zone, carried it across the blue line, and into the right circle, drawing defenders and leaving a trailing Christopher Lai open to score, giving the Jr. Reign a 3-2 lead.

“I think the difference is that willingness to compete, sacrifice, and battle,” said Blumes about the resilience of his squad.

The Lakers, down for the first time all game, were hungry to tie it up. They succeeded with over four minutes left, forcing McInenly to make a save with the rebound falling to a Lake Tahoe player.

With the scoreboard tied at three as regulation ended, the game headed to overtime—the first time this season the Jr. Reign played past regulation. Lake Tahoe started off with a 4-on-3 advantage due to penalties carried over from the third period, but Ontario killed them off, bringing it back to full-strength 3-on-3.

Neither side capitalized on the open ice until a Lakers icing led to a faceoff in the left circle with four seconds left. Head Coach Jeremy Blumes pulled McInenly to add an extra attacker, Luke Cannon, in the final seconds. With Cannon, Craig, Adam Layden, and Kayden Buffalo on the ice, Cannon won the faceoff, and Craig took a shot that rebounded to Buffalo, who scored the game-winning goal.

“We had a strong mindset,” Bennett said. “We worked hard, came back from that deficit, got a lead, and then they scraped their way back into the game near the end, and we found a way to close it out.”

McInenly finished the game with 47 saves on 50 shots, earning his fourth win of the season.

“It comes down to how hard we're going to work, and then the results take care of themselves,” said Blumes.

The Jr. Reign have consecutive home games, facing the Lake Tahoe Lakers again on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 2 PM, and the Henderson Force on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 8:30 PM. We hope to see you there!