BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Ontario Reign (18-10-2-4), four-time Pacific Division Champions and proud affiliate of the NHL’s 2014 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets, scored four straight goals en route to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Bakersfield Condors (17-13-1-3) in front of a crowd of 4,501 on Saturday night at Rabobank Arena.
After the Condors opened the scoring in the first period with three successive power-play goals from Nick MacNeil, Brendan Brooks and Sebastien Sylvestre, the Reign answered with a goal on the man advantage when Derek Couture knocked in a rebound past Ty Rimmer at 18:01 following a give-and-go between Rocco Carzo and Gasper Kopitar.
The goal marked Couture’s 83rd in a Reign uniform, moving him into a tie with Kyle Kraemer for first place on the club’s all-time goals scored list.
Ontario continued its scoring surge in the second period, as Geoff Walker took a behind-the-net feed from Gasper Kopitar and wired a shot into the top of the net at 12:48. Norm Ezekiel added the secondary assist.
The Reign evened the score with only seconds left in the frame when Tyler Scofield forced an offensive zone turnover at the blueline, and passed the puck into the right circle for Brady Ramsay. Ramsay moved the puck across to Matt White, who then snapped it into the net at 19:41.
The third period featured both teams trading numerous chances, but the Reign gained the upper hand in the dying moments of regulation, when Kyle Bigos broke in and fed Tyler Scofield in the slot. Scofield fired a shot that beat Rimmer to his glove side at 19:55 to seal the game for Ontario.
Jussi Olkinuora earned the win with 27 saves; Rimmer took the loss with 29 stops.
Three Stars:
1. ONT – Tyler Scofield
2. BAK – Sebastien Sylvestre
3. BAK – Brendan Brooks
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