Rough Start for the San Diego Sabers, Victory for the Ontario Jr. Reign

The San Diego Sabers faced the Ontario Jr. Reign in a two-game series this past weekend. Game 1 of the two-game series was at Ontario Center Ice Arena on Saturday, September 14, 2024. Game 2 took place on home ice at Carlsbad Icetown on Sunday, September 15, 2024. The San Diego Sabers lost both games this past weekend. 

Saturday, September 14, 2024 

Game 1: Ontario Jr. Reign 6, San Diego Sabers 3

The two-game series started strong for the San Diego Sabers during the first period of Game 1 as James Curran scored the first goal for the Sabers, assisted by Bryce Alexander which. This would later be followed by Devlin Morgan assisting the second San Diego Sabers’ goal of the night, scored by Sammy Albano, and extending their lead (2-0). Ontario Jr. Reigns answered back with a goal scored by Denver Craig, assisted by Ethan Fraser and Gavin Evans which cut the deficit by one goal. Ontario Jr. Reign tied the game and momentarily made the score 2-2 after a goal scored by Chad Christensen, assisted by Eddie Cochrane. With a few minutes left of the first period, San Diego Sabers’ Jeremy Adkins assisted SammyAlbano’s second second goal of the night, and extended the San Diego Sabers’ lead to 3-2. Tempers flared during the first period Devlin Morgan (Sabers) and Jett Labossiere (Reign) both received a 5 minute major for fighting and a 10 minute game misconduct. Later in the period, San Diego Sabers’ Tristan Andrews received a penalty for interference, however, the Ontario Jr. Reign were unable to capitalize on their power play attempt. 

After the first period, the Ontario Jr. Reign took control of the game as they would score three goals in the second period. The second period opened up with San Diego Sabers’ Kai Shepherd receiving a High-sticking penalty which resulted in another unsuccessful power play attempt for the Ontario Jr. Reign. Although the Ontario Jr. Reign's power play attempts so far have been unsuccessful, this did not stop their momentum as Teleios Zermeno would soon score the game-tying goal, assisted by Christopher Lai (3-3). Ontario Jr. Reign's Ethan Fraser scored the game winning goal which was assisted by Gavin Evans (4-3) and would then be followed up by Denver Craig scoring the insurance goal, assisted by Ethan Fraser (5-3). The Ontario Jr. Reign made a goalie change during the second period as Ethan Sellwood would take over after Nikolas Charles left the ice. Parker Lewis stayed on the ice for the San Diego Sabers. Despite having a power play opportunity after Ontario Jr. Reign's Teleios Zermeno received a Roughing penalty towards the end of the period, the San Diego Sabers were unable to score and the second period ended with a score of 5-3 in the Ontario Jr. Reign's favor. 

The Ontario Jr. Reign opened up the third period with a goal scored by Denver Craig, assisted by Darian Sinclair and Ethan Fraser and extended their lead by three goals. This last goal would complete Denver Craig’s hat-trick of the two-game series. Tempers flared once again during the third period as multiple cross-checking and roughing penalties were received. Both teams were unable to score on their power play attempts, however, this did not affect Ontario Jr. Reign’s lead. By the end of the game, Ontario Jr. Reign's Nikolas Charles saved 8 out of 11 shots on goal and Ethan Sellwood saved all 17 shots faced. Parker Lewis was in net for the San Diego Sabers and saved a total of 40 out of 46 shots. 

Despite a strong start for the Sabers, the Ontario Jr. Reign took the crown after Game 1 with a final score of 6-3.

Sunday, September 15, 2024 

Game 2: Ontario Jr. Reign 8, San Diego Sabers 1

Ontario Jr. Reign continued to carry their momentum from Game 1 into Game 2 as they were the only ones to score in the first and second period. Charles Johnston scored the only goal in the first period which was unassisted. Both teams received penalties during the first period which ended with Ontario Jr. Reign’s goaltender, Michael Pelc, faced a total of 8 shots and San Diego Sabers’ goaltender, Mikhail Saratovtsev facing 11 shots. The first period ended with a score of 1-0 in Ontario Jr. Reign's favor. 

Denver Craig recorded another hat-trick this game after scoring all three of Ontario Jr. Reign’s goals during the second period included a shorthanded and power play goal and extended their lead to 4-0. In regards to penalties, both teams received multiple penalties, however, the San Diego Sabers were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. Ontario Jr. Reign’s goaltender, Michael Pelc stayed on the ice and faced 20 shots. San Diego Sabers’ Mikhail Saratovtsev faced 11 shots before deciding to make a goaltender change. Carson McDonald took over for the San Diego Sabers and faced 7 shots on goal which would total up to the San Diego Sabers’ goaltenders facing 18 shots combined by the end of the second period. 

Ontario Jr. Reign received a penalty during the first few minutes of the third period, however, the San Deigo Sabers were unable to score on that attempt. This was followed up by Ontario Jr. Reign extended their lead to 5-0. The San Diego Sabers were able to get on the board and capitalize on the man advantage after Caleb Murray scored a power play goal which was assisted by Sammy Albano and Knut Hornkvist and made it a 5-1 game. Thirty-four seconds after the San Diego Sabers’ power play goal, Christopher Lai scored an unassisted goal (6-1). The San Deigo Sabers were given another power play opportunity but were unable to score on it. The Ontario Jr. Reign continued to dominate the rest of the period and record two more goals which were scored by Tyler Huston, assisted by Chad Christensen, and then an unassisted goal scored by Darian Sinclair to close out the game (8-1). By the end of the third period, Ontario jr. Reign had 18 shots on goal while the San Diego Sabers had a total of 4 shots on goal. Overall, Ontario Jr. Reign's Michael Pelc saved 31 out of 32 shots faced and secured the win. Mikhail Saratovtsev was in net for the San Diego Sabers and saved a total of 22 out of 25 shots before Carson McDonald took over and saved 17 out of 22 shots. 

The Ontario Jr. Reign kept the crown after Game 2 with a final score of 8-1. Despite facing hardships during both games, it will be interesting to watch how things unfold in this weekend’s games as the two teams are scheduled to face each other again. 

The scheduled games between the San Diego Sabers will face the Ontario Jr. Reign:

Game 1 | Saturday, September 21, 2024 | Ontario Center Ice Arena

• The San Diego Sabers will face the Ontario Jr. Reign on Saturday, September 21, 2024 at 8:30 PM PDT at Ontario Center Ice Arena.

  • Watch on FloHockey

Game 2 | Sunday, September 22, 2024 | Carlsbad Icetown

• The San Diego Sabers will face the Ontario Jr. Reign on Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 1:00 PM PDT at Carlsbad Icetown.

  • Watch on FloHockey

Will the San Diego Sabers be able to persevere and steal the crown from the Ontario Jr. Reign or will the Ontario Jr. Reign continue to keep their winning streak against the San Diego Sabers? 

Comment down below and stay tuned for the next San Deigo Sabers’ weekly recap of the 2024-2025 USPHL regular season!