ONTARIO, Calif. – The Ontario Reign (5-3) opened their Pacific Division Finals matchup with the Utah Grizzlies (4-3) with an exciting 3-2 overtime victory in front of a crowd of 3,188 on Sunday afternoon at Citizens Business Bank Arena.
Ontario opened the scoring in the first period when David Rutherford banged home a shot past Igor Bobkov at 2:37, with Judd Blackwater and Garry Nunn assisting.
Ryan Hayes evened the score for the Grizzlies at 12:44 on the power-play, as the forward walked in from the left side of the Ontario net and slid the puck through the pads of Jussi Olkinuora at 12:44. 
Alex Krushelnyski pulled Utah ahead with a drive to the net at 12:04 of the second period, lifting a backhand shot past the glove of Olkinuora.
The Reign responded on the power-play, as Matt Register unleashed a rocket from the right point that beat Bobkov above his blocker at 17:36.
The third period yielded no change in the score, despite Ontario outshooting Utah by a 12-6 margin in the frame, forcing overtime.
Ontario prevailed in the first extra session when Blackwater took the puck at the right circle and fired a wrist shot with laser-like accuracy into the top corner of the net at 8:30, giving Ontario the victory and the series lead.
Olkinuora picked up the win with 22 saves; Bobkov took the loss with 22 stops.
Three Stars:
1. ONT – Judd Blackwater
2. ONT – Matt Register
3. ONT – David Rutherford
You must be logged in to post a comment.