ONTARIO, CA. -- Martin Chromiak’s game-tying and game-winning goal led the Ontario Reign to a 3-2 victory against the Calgary Wranglers Tuesday night.
Coming into tonight’s matchup, the eighth place Reign - who hadn’t won a home game yet - were undoubtedly the underdogs against first place Wranglers.
But tonight the crowd was able to see the win they deserved and a team whose mission was clear.
“No one liked the game against Henderson,” Chromiak said. “So we had a good practice, we got right back to it and I thought it was a much better effort from everyone. We played the whole 60 (minutes) and got the job done.”
The Reign finally began the opening period in a way they had struggled to so far this season - with energy and aggression.
Ontario had 12 shots on goal in the first period, which was much better than the four shots on goal in last game’s opening period.
“You could tell right from the drop of the puck we were ready to go,” Ontario coach Andrew Lord said. “We’re playing faster, way more energy on the bench. It was a really good performance against a really, really good team.”
Both teams were scoreless and hadn’t committed any penalties through the opening period, however that wouldn’t last much longer.
Once again, the Reign allowed their opponent to score first on home ice.
Tyson Gross found the back of the net with assists from William Stömgren and Axel Hurtig just two minutes into period two.
It wasn’t until the Reign had the extra man advantage midway through the second period in which Cole Guttman tied the game with a power-play goal with help from Scott Perunovich and Chromiak.
Rory Kerins was able to get the puck in the back of the net just seven seconds before intermission, giving the lead back to the Wranglers.
Chromiak’s game-tying goal came 18 seconds into the final period and his game-winning goal at 17:10, giving the Reign a much needed home win.
“I’m happy that the coaches trust me and they’re putting me out there,” Chromiak said. “Today was me, next game it could be someone else.”
Ontario goalie Carter George earned his second win of the season with 24 saves.
Lord describes the 20-year-old goalie as:
“Electric. (He) reads the game so well, so poised, so calm. Such an old man demeanor for such a young kid and it’s really impressive. It’s fun to be a part of it.”
Ontario will visit the Texas Stars (1-3-1-1; 4 points) for a weekend series on Friday and Saturday, with each game beginning at 5 p.m. PT.