Reign crown Roadrunners, 5-1

in Rooney scored a power-play goal, but the Tucson Roadrunners (19-16-8-0) fell 5-1 to the Ontario Reign (29-14-1-1) on Wednesday night at Toyota Arena.

Ontario led wire-to-wire, building a three-goal first-period cushion that proved too much for Tucson to overcome. Jacob Doty opened the scoring just 2:53 into the contest before Martin Chromiak and Glenn Gawdin struck eight seconds apart midway through the frame to give the Reign a 3-0 lead at the 10:34 mark.

In his first game in two weeks after missing time with an injury, Rooney scored Tucson’s lone goal on the power play at 14:10 of the second period, deflecting a shot past Phoenix Copley to trim the deficit to two. Cameron Hebig and Sammy Walker each recorded an assist on the goal. Hebig’s helper marked his 91st career assist with Tucson, tying Kyle Capobianco for second all-time in franchise history.

Ontario sealed the win with two unanswered goals in the third period, including Aatu Jämsen’s power-play tally with six minutes remaining and Francesco Pinelli’s empty-net goal with 2:30 left.

Despite the loss, the Roadrunners remain in seventh place in the Pacific and still hold the final playoff spot in the division.

HIGHLIGHTS

TEAM NOTES

• Tucson has scored a power-play goal in four of its last five games dating back to Jan. 25 at Henderson, going 4-for-14 (28.6%) in that span.
• The Roadrunners have outscored opponents 10-1 in the second period over their last seven games dating back to Jan. 21 vs. San Diego.
• Tucson has scored in the second period in five consecutive games.
• The Roadrunners have tallied 47 second-period goals this season, tied with Ontario for the second-most in the Pacific Division and two behind San Jose (49).
• Tucson’s +11 goal differential in the second period ranks second in the Pacific Division, trailing only Ontario (+12).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Cameron Hebig recorded his 21st assist of the season, tying his career high set in 2025-26.
• Wednesday’s assist marked Hebig’s team-high 12th power-play point of the season (5g, 7a).
• Hebig has recorded an assist in back-to-back games and in three of his last four contests dating back to Jan. 28 at San Diego.
• Hebig has tallied a point in all three games against Ontario this season and has four points (1g, 3a) in the season series.
• Sammy Walker has tallied a point in all three games against Ontario this season and leads the Roadrunners in scoring in the season series with five points (2g, 3a).
• Kevin Rooney has scored in all three games against the Reign this season, totaling three goals.

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST PERIOD
Tucson fell behind early when Ontario forward Jacob Doty broke in alone on a breakaway and beat goaltender Jaxson Stauber with a snap shot past the blocker just 2:53 into the contest.

The Roadrunners nearly responded four minutes later as Kevin Rooney danced through multiple Reign defenders, but his forehand attempt from the slot was turned aside by goaltender Pheonix Copley.

Ontario then seized momentum midway through the period, scoring twice in an eight-second span to extend its lead to three. At 10:26, a dump-in by defenseman Kirill Kirsanov took an odd bounce off the glass, allowing Martin Chromiak to snap a shot into an open net from the low right circle. Just eight seconds later, off a designed faceoff play, Chromiak fed Glenn Gawdin for a one-timer inside the Roadrunners’ zone that beat Stauber glove side to make it 3-0 at 10:34.

Tucson controlled possession late in the period, outshooting Ontario 4-1 over the final five minutes and holding an 8-7 edge in shots overall after 20 minutes.

SECOND PERIOD
The opening five minutes featured strong goaltending from Stauber, who made three key saves on Reign forwards, including a stick stop on Kaleb Lawrence from the top of the crease.

Tucson generated quality looks as the period progressed, with defenseman Maveric Lamoureux producing the Roadrunners’ best chance on a backdoor opportunity that was turned aside by Copley’s blocker. On Tucson’s first power play of the period, Daniil But fired a wrist shot from the top of the point that rang off the left post.

The Roadrunners broke through later in the frame. On a subsequent power play, Kevin Rooney deflected Cameron Hebig’s shot from the right circle past Copley to cut the deficit to two at 14:10.

Tucson controlled possession in the closing minutes of the period inside Ontario’s defensive zone. Both teams headed to the final frame with the Roadrunners trailing by two, with shots even at 16 apiece after 40 minutes.

THIRD PERIOD
Both teams’ defenses shined in the early going of the final frame, as neither side recorded a shot until the 7:54 mark when Stauber denied Nikita Alexandrov from the top of the crease, covering the puck with his glove.

Tucson nearly pulled within one moments later at the other end, as Hebig ripped a shot from the right faceoff circle that rang off the left post.

Despite killing off an early Ontario power play, the Reign capitalized on their second man-advantage opportunity of the period. Aatu Jämsen beat Stauber glove side from the left circle to extend the lead with six minutes remaining.

Francesco Pinelli sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal at 17:31, closing out a 5-1 Ontario victory.