By: Eric He

ONTARIO, Calif. — Danny O’Regan saw it coming as soon as he stepped onto the ice.

Right off the bench, the Barracuda forward took a few strides past the Reign defense, collected a stretch pass from defenseman Tim Heed, broke in on net, and delivered the game-winning goal in overtime to give San Jose a 5-4 win over Ontario in a Saturday night thriller at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

The goal capped off an action-packed 3-on-3 overtime period, which featured a breakaway attempt by Nikolay Goldobin that sprayed wide and a great save by Reign goaltender Jona Igboo off Joakim Ryan.

“That was a fun game,” Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer said. “From behind the bench, it was fun. It must have been entertaining for the fans.”

The Barracuda had the lead on three separate occasions, only for the Reign to answer with a game-tying goal. San Jose led 4-3 entering the third period, but the Reign evened the score at four goals at 2:44 on a bad giveaway by Heed right in front of his own net. His pass went right to the Reign’s Andrew Crescenzi, who deposited it past goaltender Mantas Armalis.

But O’Regan’s goal in sudden-death overtime left Ontario with no chance to respond. It was redemption for Heed after the egregious turnover that led to the game-tying goal, as the defenseman waited patiently for O’Regan to build up speed before letting go of the pass.

“I knew we were on the same page,” O’Regan said. “[Heed] was just letting me get the speed so I could get past the guy. It was a great play by him.”

San Jose took its first lead early in the second period. Kevin LaBanc deflected a shot from the point by Tim Heed past Igboo. LaBanc, who led the Ontario Hockey League in goals last season, recorded his first AHL goal.

But Ontario answered with its second goal on just its fifth shot, coming on the power play. Zach Leslie took a shot from the left point that Armalis stopped, but Bjorkstrand grabbed the rebound and stuffed it back through Armalis’ five-hole from point-blank to tie the game 2-2.

The Barracuda jumped ahead 3-2 midway through the second on the man-advantage. Goldobin slid a short pass over to Ryan from the slot, and Ryan finished on a gaping net.

But in a flurry of second period goals, the Reign responded. Veteran Brett Sutter tipped in a shot from the point by Bjorkstrand to even the score.

“The older guys on the bench were keeping everyone up after every goal against,” O’Regan said. “It seemed like we’d get the lead and give it away.”

So they went, back and forth.

Less than a minute later, Goldobin picked up a goal, slapping one in from the slot as San Jose retook the lead at 4-3 with six minutes to play in the period.

The Barracuda outshot the Reign 11-3 in the first period, but entered intermission with just a 1-1 tie as both teams converted on their lone power play opportunity.

San Jose outshot Ontario 31-15 in the game, but had to fight tooth and nail to get the win.

“That’s hockey,” Sommer said on the shot discrepancy. “The kid who was in there (Igboo), I’ve got to give him kudos. I thought he played really well.”

Ontario scored on its first shot of the game. Midway through the period on the man advantage, Patrick Bjorkstrand scored top shelf on Armalis, grabbing the loose puck after his original shot was blocked.

San Jose, though, kept the pressure on and drew a penalty with less than seven minutes remaining in the period. The Barracuda kept the puck moving and chances coming on the power play, and Marcus Sorensen netted his first AHL goal at 14:58 to tie the game at 1-1. Sorensen finished from the side of the cage after a shot by Julias Bergman was deflected and went right to his stick.

Each team scored two power play goals on the night, with the Barracuda going 2-for-5.

“I thought we moved the puck really well,” O’Regan said. “Both units were able to get a lot of sustained pressure. Even if we didn’t score, it would shift the momentum for us.”

Armalis stopped 11 shots on the night in his first AHL start. The former male model who gained fame for his looks did not quite impress his coach.

“Alright,” Sommer said on Armalis’ play. “Not fired up about his performance. He’s just coming over. He’s got his first win and just build on that.”

The Barracuda are off until next Friday when they take on Bakersfield in the home opener at SAP Center.