Reign Finish Off Grizzlies in 4-0 Win Ontario advances to Western Conference Finals for first time in history

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – The Ontario Reign (8-4), four-time ECHL Pacific Division Champions and proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s 2014 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets, advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in their history following a 4-0 win over the Utah Grizzlies (5-6) to take the Pacific Division Finals in five games in front of a crowd of 3,019 on Saturday night at Maverik Center. 2015KellyCupPlayoffs_665x315

Derek Couture potted his first of the postseason to give Ontario the lead while on the power play, as he fired home a Maxim Kitsyn rebound past Eric Levine at 3:04.

The Reign converted again with the man advantage in the middle frame, when Matt Register and Dennis Brown traded places at the top of the zone, allowing Brown to feed Register for a one-timer that beat Levine low to the blocker side at 16:03.

The Grizzlies pulled Levine for an extra attacker in the dying moments of the third period, but Alex Roach fired the puck into a yawning net at 18:55. A scrum developed at 19:32 that resulted in a number of penalties being handed out to both sides; Jussi Olkinuora was replaced by Coleman Vollrath.

Maxim Kitsyn would seal the game with an unassisted power-play goal at 19:48, as Ontario would go on to maintain the shutout.

Olkinuora picked up the win with 22 saves, while Vollrath faced no shots in relief; Levine took the loss with 24 stops.

The Reign will face the winners of the Central Division Finals (the Allen Americans currently lead the Rapid City Rush two games to one) in the Western Conference Finals. A full third round schedule will be announced in the coming days once an opponent is determined.

Three Stars:

1. ONT – Jussi Olkinuora

2. ONT – Derek Couture

3. ONT – Maxim Kitsyn

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