Reign Strike Early in Third to Beat Roadrunners 4-1

Roadrunners Recap: 3/4/2026

Game #53: Tucson Roadrunners (1) at Ontario Reign (4)

SOG: TUC (19) – ONT (27)

PP: TUC (0/3) – ONT (2/6)

ONTARIO SCORING: Martin Chromiak (18), Andre Lee (22), Jared Wright (16, 17)
TUCSON SCORING: Andrew Agozzino (10)

ONTARIO, CA – The Tucson Roadrunners (24-21-8-0) were unable to overcome a pair of early third-period goals in a 4–1 loss to the Ontario Reign (36-16-1-1) on Wednesday night at Toyota Arena.

After Ontario’s Martin Chromiak opened the scoring on the power play late in the first period, Tucson answered in the final minute of the frame when assistant captain Andrew Agozzino scored on a short-handed breakaway to tie the game, 1–1.

Following a scoreless second period, the Roadrunners controlled play early in the third but were unable to find the go-ahead goal. Ontario regrouped and struck twice in a 35-second span, getting a power-play goal from Andre Lee and an even-strength tally from Jared Wright to take a 3–1 lead. Wright later added an empty-net goal to put the game on ice

Goaltender Matthew Villalta made 23 saves on 26 shots for Tucson against his former club.

The loss, coupled with the Henderson Silver Knights’ 5–1 win over the Coachella Valley Firebirds, moved Tucson just outside the Pacific Division playoff picture. Henderson holds the division’s final postseason spot with a one-point edge over the Roadrunners.

HIGHLIGHTS

TEAM NOTES

• The Roadrunners are now 2-2-0-0 through the first four games of their six-game road trip.
• Andrew Agozzino’s short-handed goal at 19:21 of the first period marked Tucson’s fourth short-handed tally of the season. The Roadrunners’ other short-handed goals came from Ben McCartney on Jan. 2 at CGY and Jan. 21 vs. SD, and Kevin Rooney on Feb. 22 vs. ONT.
• Tucson has recorded a short-handed goal in back-to-back games against the Reign.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Andrew Agozzino scored his 10th goal of the season and first short-handed tally of the year.
• Wednesday’s goal marked the 13th short-handed goal of his career and his first since March 15, 2023, as a member of the San Jose Barracuda.
• Agozzino has two goals in his last three games dating back to Feb. 28 at SJ.
• Miko Matikka’s fight with Ontario’s Koehn Ziemmer marked the first fighting major of Matikka’s AHL career.

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST PERIOD
Roadrunners goaltender Matthew Villalta looked sharp early and denied Glenn Gawdin’s grade-A opportunity when the Ontario center drove to the net and fired a hard backhander from just above the crease just past the three-minute mark. Villalta’s strong start helped Tucson weather Ontario’s early pressure, as the Reign held a 6–0 shots-on-goal advantage through the first half of the period.

A Daniil But interference minor at 7:37 gave Ontario the game’s first power play, but Tucson’s penalty kill answered the call and held the Reign without a shot on goal to keep the game scoreless.

Tucson was then assessed back-to-back penalties late in the frame—high-sticking at 2:47 and tripping at 2:26—setting up a 1:39, two-man advantage for Ontario. The Reign capitalized 15 seconds later when Martin Chromiak finished a one-timer from in tight to give Ontario a 1–0 lead.

Still shorthanded, the Roadrunners responded emphatically. Andrew Agozzino broke free on a short-handed breakaway and snapped a wrist shot over the glove of Erik Portillo to tie the game, 1–1, with 39 seconds remaining.

SECOND PERIOD
Tucson’s penalty parade carried into the middle frame as the Roadrunners were whistled for too many men just 48 seconds in. Once again, the penalty kill stood tall, limiting the Reign to a single shot on goal. Tucson earned its first power play of the night four minutes later following Erik Portillo’s tripping minor, but the Roadrunners were unable to generate a quality look on the man advantage.

Villalta continued to make his presence felt and delivered his best save of the night just before the nine-minute mark, sliding post-to-post to rob Logan Brown’s one-timer on a 2-on-1 with a glove save to keep the game even. Villalta continued to frustrate Ontario, which held an 18–5 shots-on-goal advantage through 30 minutes but had just one goal to show for it.

The Roadrunners generated pressure early in the second half of the period, including Montana Onyebuchi’s wrist shot from the right circle that narrowly missed the open left side of the net. Tucson’s momentum was halted by a boarding penalty, giving the Reign their fifth power play of the night with just under eight minutes remaining.

Ontario’s man advantage was cut short just over a minute later when Owen Allard intercepted a breakout attempt in the Ontario zone, forcing Gawdin to take a slashing penalty to prevent a breakaway.

Tucson was unable to capitalize on the abbreviated power play, but moments after it expired, Austin Poganski drove the puck to the crease and drew a hooking penalty from Joe Hicketts to put the Roadrunners back on the man advantage with just over four minutes to play.

Tucson hemmed Ontario in its own zone for the remainder of the period, and Agozzino nearly netted his second of the night, but Portillo made a diving stop to deny the assistant captain’s one-timer, sending the game into the final intermission tied, 1–1.

THIRD PERIOD
Tucson’s late second-period momentum carried into the final frame as the Roadrunners fired five shots on goal in the opening 1:53—two more than they produced in the entire first period. Cameron Hebig broke in alone on a breakaway in the opening minute, but Portillo made a slide pad save to turn it aside to keep the game even.

Hebig nearly broke through again a minute later after corraling a bank pass off the boards and attempting to tuck the puck into the open left side, but Portillo flashed the right pad to deny him once more.

For the third time in the game, Tucson’s momentum was halted by a minor penalty—and this one proved costly. Andre Lee scored on the ensuing power play to put the Reign back in front, 2–1, before Jared Wright struck again just 35 seconds later to make it 3–1 at the 3:37 mark.

Moments after the ensuing faceoff, Miko Matikka dropped the gloves with Ontario’s Koehn Ziemmer.

The Roadrunners generated sustained pressure in the offensive zone late before pulling Villalta with 3:36 remaining for the extra attacker. Just over a minute later, Wright sent the puck down the ice from his own faceoff dot and into the empty net for his second goal of the night to seal Ontario’s 4–1 win.

UP NEXT
The Roadrunners will close out their road trip with a two-game set against the Bakersfield Condors on Friday and Saturday at Dignity Health Arena. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 8 p.m. AZT. Fans can listen live on FOX Sports 1450 AM and the iHeartRadio app, watch on AHLtv on FloHockey.