OJR sweep Lakers, advance to Pacific Division Championship Final

Playoff hockey is nothing new for the Ontario Jr. Reign, as they kick off their postseason journey with a road trip to face the Lake Tahoe Lakers. Both sides were evenly matched during the regular season, but the Jr. Reign reached another level of dominance and swept the Lakers to move one step closer to another Pacific Division title. 

Josh Henson got the start for game one, as he is accustomed to big playoff matches during his time with the silver and black. 

It was end-to-end hockey for the first 30 minutes of play, with the Jr. Reign leading in the shots on goal category. However, it was the Lakers who entered the third period with a 1-0 lead.      

With his family in attendance, the NoCal native, Christopher Lai opened the final period with two goals within seven minutes, including one from the high slot.  

Now that the momentum sided with Ontario, the OJR boys kicked up their play into another gear. 

Luke Cannon and Grant Coykendall netted two more goals in less than 20 seconds apart from each other, giving the Jr. Reign a 4-1 lead.  

Lake Tahoe didn’t concede quite yet, as they answered with two goals of their own to make it a one goal game with just over minutes remaining in regulation. 

Henson delivered a stellar performance down the stretch, making clutch saves to keep Lake Tahoe at bay. With the Lakers pulling their goalie, Denver Craig sealed the victory with an empty-net goal. Coykendall put the finishing touch on the game, burying a power-play goal at the buzzer to secure a 6-3 victory.

It was a slow start in game two for the Jr. Reign, as the Lakers started on the front foot but were denied by Henson who got the start.  

This time, Ontario was able to capitalize on the early opportunities that they created, as Lai scored his third of the series. His wrist shot was hit so hard, it deflected off the keeper and into the net.  

Mason Geng followed suit with two minutes remaining, as he nailed home a loose puck for a 2-0 lead after the first period.      

Ontario broke the game open in the second period, netting four goals in just eight minutes. Carter Demelo, Ethan Fraser, and Mateo Pero all found the back of the net, while Lai added his second of the night while being short-handed. 

Lake Tahoe pulled one back before the second intermission to make the score 6-1. 

A multitude of penalties by the Lakers led Ontario to have a majority of the possession in the final period. Thus Demelo put the final nail in the coffin by netting two power-play goals in the final 10 minutes, while the Lakers would score a final consolation goal to end the match 8-2.  

Henson saved 25 of the 27 shots we faced, aiding the Jr. Reign to sweep the Lake Tahoe Lakers in the first round of the Pacific Division Playoffs. 

Next up, the Ontario Jr. Reign take part in a rematch of last year's Pacific Division Championship series, hitting the road to take on the Fresno Monsters. Game one is set for Thursday, March 13, at 7:45 PM, followed by game two on Friday, March 14, at 6 PM. If necessary, game three will take place on Saturday, March 15, at 5 PM. Catch all the action live on FloHockey.tv.

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