Hot in Vegas: OJR win 3 of 4 at USPHL Showcase

Before the Winter break the Ontario Jr. Reign traveled to Henderson, Nevada for the USPHL Las Vegas Showcase, which hosted teams from all over the country. The OJR had a successful road trip as they went on to win three of the four games against some tough opponents.   

The first match-up of the showcase was the undefeated Vernal Oilers from the Northwest Division. The Oilers were a perfect 24-0-0 entering the game, as well as being ranked first in the USPHL power rankings. 

The Oilers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. 

Denver Craig scored short-handed on a breakaway opportunity, deking the goaltender with just over a minute in the second. However, Vernal scored once more just seconds later to close out the first period with a 3-1 score. 

The Oilers added to their lead in under a minute to open the second period.

Craig scored his second of the match, by picking up a pass from Jesiah Bennett in the neutral zone, while speeding past a defender, snapping the puck top left shelf from the right circle.  

As the second period ended 4-2, the Jr. Reign pressed hard in the third period but came up short. The final goal of the night from the Oilers came in the dying seconds of the match with an empty net to shoot on, as the final score was 5-2. 

The next day, the Jr. Reign played another Northwest Division opponent, the Bremerton Sockeyes who have struggled thus far in the season. 

Niko Charles got the start and saved all eight shots he faced on the night, to earn the shutout. 

The first goal came short-handed from Christopher Lai when he picked up the puck in the neutral zone from Adam Layden and flew down the left wing and beat the goalie stick side for the opener. 

After killing the first penalty, Craig shortly followed with another short-handed goal by picking the defenders pocket and beating the keeper on the breakaway. 

Luke Cannon ended the period with a goal himself after returning from injury, by redirecting the puck while setting a screen in front of the net. 

The first period ended 3-0 for the Ontario Jr. Reign. 

The second period started with a goal from Darian Sinclair as he picked up the puck in the right circle, flew across the goal mouth and sneaked the puck past the goaltender’s pad to make the score 4-0.   

Craig added his second of the night, when he danced around two Sockeyes’ defenders and sent a wrist shot into the back of the net to make the score 5-0 after the second period. 

The scoring didn’t stop in the third as Mason Geng extended the score with a pair of power-play goals. Craig scored his third of the game to complete his hat-trick and Bryn Studney- Amos was the last player to find the back of the net for the Jr. Reign.

The final score for game two read 9-0. Craig surpassed 60 points on the season with a seven point game, followed by four points for Cannon and three points for Geng.  

Following the showcase Geng will represent Team China at the World Juniors tournament over the winter break. 

Game three, the Jr. Reign took on the MJDP who sit second in the Midwest Division. 

Ryan Hicks got his sixth start of the season, as he searched for his fifth win. 

The offense continued from the previous game as Ontario were able to get pucks deep in the offensive zone and pepper the MJDP goalie with shots. 

Eventually one of those shots went in, on account of Carter Demelo cleaning up a rebound in front of the net by a shot from Bennett in just over eight minutes of play. 

Cannon continued his strong play since returning from injury while on the power-play, capitalizing off a loose puck with the goaltender sprawling to make the game 2-0. 

Fresh off a line change Christian Yi blasted a slap shot through traffic from just inside the zone to end the first period 3-0. 

The Jr. Reign outshot MJDP 18-1 throughout the first period. 

The script flipped for the second period as MJDP scored two unanswered goals that brought the score to 3-2 with all to play for in the final period. 

However Cannon scored off a  short-handed breakaway opportunity when he collected his rebound and scored on a wrap around.  

The score was now 4-2 through only one minute of play in the third period. 

Bennett scored the insurance marker on the power-play burying a loose puck, making the final score 5-2. 

Hicks ended the night with 20 saves on 22 shots faced. Samuel Delaquis, Cannon, Bennett and Sinclair ended the night with two points. 

The final game of the Las Vegas Showcase was against the Metro Jets of the Great Lakes Division. They came into this match-up ranked fifth in the USPHL Power Rankings and first in their division. 

Henson got the nod to start in between the posts, searching for a win in Las Vegas. 

The first period was a tight checking affair and the first period ended scoreless. 

The Metro Jets struck first on the powerplay with just under seven minutes of play, as there was a scramble for the puck in front of the net that found the stick of Jets attacker.  

Just five minutes later Yi scored the equalizer on a pass from Geng that pulled him to fire a wrist shot from the slot to beat the goalie stick side. 

The remainder of the second period was skated out as the scoreboard read 1-1. 

As the Jr. Reign started the final period of the Las Vegas Showcase, Cannon continued his heroics to put Ontario ahead.

The insurance goal came with just over two minutes left in regulation. Demelo created a turnover in the Ontario defensive zone and created a two-on-one breakaway with Delaquis. Demelo drew the defender and goaltender to him and then sauced the puck to Delaquis who deftly threw on the breaks and deposited the puck in the back of the net to end the game with a 3-1 score. 

Henson was brilliant and saved 28 of 29 attempts from the Metro Jets. 

An all-around team effort from the Ontario Jr. Reign earned them six of a possible eight points at the USPHL Las Vegas Showcase. The Jr. Reign maintain sole position of second place in the Pacific Division, as they are six points behind the Lake Tahoe Lakers with two games in hand.   

Join the Ontario Jr. Reign after the break for the next home game on Jan. 11. Be at the Center Ice Arena at puck drop is at 8:30 p.m. against the Fresno Monsters. Tickets are on sale now at Tickets - Ontario Jr Reign.