ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Ontario Reign (42-19-4-6), four-time Pacific Division Champions and proud affiliate of the NHL’s 2014 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets, saw its seven-game unbeaten streak come to an end in a 3-1 loss to the Alaska Aces (35-29-3-4) in front of a crowd of 5,419 on Friday night at Sullivan Arena.
Both teams played through a scoreless first period. Adam Brown, making his first appearance for Ontario since March 3, made his best save of the frame at 14:38 by lunging across the crease to smother Felix Poulin’s rebound.
The Aces got the first goal of the night early in the second stanza when Chris Francis entered the attacking zone and fired a wrist shot that caught Brown in the shoulder and trickled into the net at 1:29.
Alaska extended its lead to two goals when Niklas Lundstrom kicked the puck out to Ryan Walter, who carried the puck up the ice before sending it across to Tim Coffman, who fired a shot through Brown at 10:08.
Greg Wolfe gave the Aces a three-goal lead when he took a feed from Francis in the slot, turned and fired a snap shot over the shoulder of Brown at 11:35.
Judd Blackwater got the Reign on the board when he fired a one-timer from the right circle that beat Lundstrom at 18:29 off a pass from Josh Brittain. The goal was Blackwater’s 300th career pro point.
Despite pulling Brown for an extra skater with over three minutes remaining in the final period, Ontario could not close the gap with the Aces.
Brown took the loss with 32 saves; Lundstrom picked up the win with 33 stops.
Three Stars:
1. AK – Niklas Lundstrom
2. AK – Chris Francis
3. ONT – Judd Blackwater
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