Reign 7, Idaho 4.

The Reign jumped out to a rare 5-0 lead, enabling them to withstand a four-goal third period by Idaho in a game with plenty of implications in the standings.

Seventh-place Utah won, meaning a loss would have kept the Reign three points back of the National Conference’s final playoff berth.

Now seven teams are separated by one point each for the final six playoff positions: Bakersfield (71), Victoria (70), Las Vegas (69), Alaska (68), Stockton (67), Utah (66) and Ontario (65).

Postgame quotes coming shortly. It’s not easy summarizing a game featuring 11 goals and 24 penalties, but here are a few of the pertinent details:

– Mike Zacharias got his first start since Jan. 23 and made 32 saves for the victory.
– Greg Hogeboom scored his 30th goal of the season, becoming the first Reign player to reach that plateau.
– Tony Voce scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season, becoming the fourth Reign player (Hogeboom, Geoff Walker, Jon Francisco) to reach that plateau.
– Andrew Martens (3rd goal of the season), Geoff Walker (3rd) and Jon Rheault (17th) also scored.
– The Reign went 3-for-5 on the power play.
– Idaho racked up 33 minutes of penalties, led by Kevin DeVirgilio (14). The Reign racked up 45, led by Sean O’Connor (16) and Mike Egener (12). At one point in the third period, five players were standing in the Reign’s penalty box.
– Tim Kraus left the game with an undisclosed injury and did not play the final two periods. His status for tomorrow is unknown.