ALLEN, Texas – The Ontario Reign evened the Western Conference Final series at one game apiece Monday night, shutting down and shutting out the high-powered Americans offense 3-0. The Reign were led by a stellar performance in net from Joe Cannata who surrendered five goals the night before but turned aside all 35 shots Monday.
The Americans played their strongest in the first period, outplaying the Reign in all aspects and dominating the shot count 18-6, but were held at bay by Cannata who never buckled under the pressure and kept Ontario in the game.
Ontario came out flying in the second period while Allen looked flat, allowing the Reign to score just 1:18 into the frame when Garry Nunn found the back of the net. The Reign then extended the lead with their first power play goal of the series off the stick of Derek Couture at the 9:04 mark. Shots were closer in the second with the Reign nudging past Allen 9-8 for a two period total 26-15 in favor of the Americans.
Allen tried to mount a comeback in the third, but the momentum was clearly for Ontario, who matched Allen shot-for-shot in the frame at 9-9 and capped the scoring to cement the victory when Matt Register hit the empty net. Allen took the shot advantage 35-24 and went 0-for-4 on the power play, while Ontario scored once in five tries.
The three stars of the game were 1.Joe Cannata, 2.Garry Nunn, and 3.Derek Couture, all from Ontario.
The series now shifts to the west coast when the teams resume action on Thursday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena with the puck drop scheduled for 9:05PM CDT.
Contact the writer: maurice.fitzgerald@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer: Kimberly.Sauer@prohockeynews.com
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