Ontario Reign Weekend Preview: Life Without Mersch

Updated 12/13/15.

Bakersfield Condors VS Ontario Reign (Saturday), San Jose Barracuda VS Ontario Reign (Sunday)

Days: Saturday and Sunday (CBBA)

Time: 6 PM Pacific (Saturday), 3 PM Pacific (Sunday)

Listen: Mixlr

Watch: AHL Live

Big weekend for your Reign…it’s LA Kings Night tonight and Star Wars Day tomorrow! This marks the beginning of 14 out of the next 17 games at home for Ontario.

Ontario Reign Lines

39 Auger – 11 Newbury – 16 Backman

9 Kempe – 26 Dowd – 12 Brodzinski

18 Samuels-Thomas – 21 Crescenzi – 7 Zykov

15 Bissonnette – 24 Horvat – 13 Gogol

20 MacDermid – 5 Loverde

4 Gravel – 33 Raine

55 Schultz – 23 Ebert

31 Budaj

29 Houser

• Jonny Brodzinski gets the first opportunity to replace just called-up Michael Mersch. It’ll be a tall order to replace the dominant Mersch, but Brodzinski, who netted his first professional goal last weekend has a tantalizing release and shot. (Update: Actually, Kempe lined up at LW next to Dowd and Brodzinski)
• Also, Joel Lowry goes in for Ryan Horvat. We heard no word of injury, so perhaps it was because of Horvat’s two OZ penalties last night./

San Jose Barracuda Lines

(based on last game)

11 Lerg – 21 Smith – 86 Langlois

89 Goodrow – 38 Haley – 55 Emanuelsson

53 Jevpalovs – 17 McCarthy – 82 Goldobin

54 Hanson – 84 Parkes – 72 Doremus

3 Stollery – 41 Mueller

47 Ryan – 70 Young

45 Cundari – 63 Bergman

1 Grosenick

30 Dell

• The Sharks just sent Ryan Carpenter back to the Barracuda. The AHL team’s leading scorer, Carpenter is sure to draw in this afternoon.
• Latest update has McLaren, Hanson, Bergman, and Timmins out, so last night’s shutout loss to San Diego will definitely affect today’s lineup.

Bakersfield Condors Lines

(based on last game)

12 Hamilton – 39 Yakimov – 33 Slepyshev

9 Pitlick – 17 Miller – 11 Ford

13 LaLeggia – 14 Platzer – 21 Chase

19 Moroz – 36 Currie – 22 Kessy

2 Reinhart – 5 Fayne

29 Hunt – 18 Simpson

15 Oesterle – 6 Musil

30 Scrivens

35 Rimmer

• The Oilers just buried one contract in Bakersfield, only to dig another up. Mark Fayne returns to the AHL for the first time since 2010-11, while Nikita Nikitin rises from the Rabobank.
• Since well-regarded goaltending prospect Laurent Brossoit is out for about a week, the Condors called up Ty Rimmer from the ECHL to take his place. Ex-King Ben Scrivens shut out San Diego on Friday; will Bakersfield test the mostly struggling netminder in a back-to-back against Ontario?/