The same is true for six-game losing streaks, when two of the losses result in points in the standings.

Still, the Reign had never lost more than five consecutive until Saturday, when they fell to the Pacific Division-leading Bakersfield Condors in overtime.

During the six-game drought, the Reign have scored just 11 goals.

"We're struggling to score and that's the main issue," coach Karl Taylor said. "We're playing really hard defensively, sticking together as a team. When you feel you're playing pretty well, and you're not getting the results, it's frustrating for the players and the coach."

Since beating the Las Vegas Wranglers in a shootout Dec. 18, the Reign dropped a pair in Vegas, lost at home to the Condors, then lost twice in Alaska before Saturday's defeat in Bakersfield.

The back-to-back games in Alaska, on Wednesday and Thursday, were especially hard to swallow. The Reign were leading 2-0 midway through the second period Wednesday before the Aces came back to tie the game and won in a shootout.

On Thursday, in a game that ended two and a half hours before the clock struck midnight on the New Year, the Reign dominated early - taking 24 shots in the first period alone while allowing just seven - but still fell behind 2-1 going into the third period en route to a 6-3 loss.

"I wish I could explain it," Taylor said. "It's the first game that got away from us in a really long time."

While most were ringing in the New Year, the Reign were at an airport and didn't depart Anchorage until 1 a.m. Friday - then drove from LAX to Bakersfield for Saturday's game.

Despite the results, Taylor is preaching that his team hold the course.

He's weighed the options.

"You can get a different type of player, change the way you play the game, or get scoring from complementary players," he said. "We're not going to change the game we play. ... We play a hard-nosed tough-to-play-against, defensive-first style. That's who we are, and in playoffs that can lead you to some success.

"You control your destiny more when you play that way."

Complementary scoring, Taylor said, could come from anybody. And the Reign did make one roster change this week, trading defenseman Jon Landry to the Kalamazoo Wings for forward Sal Peralta on Saturday.

Peralta, 26, had four goals and 15 points in 19 games for the Wings this season. The 6-foot-2 rookie played against Karl Taylor's University of Waterloo squad in 2004-05 as a freshman at the University of Western Ontario. He was the Mustangs' leading scorer three of his five years in college.

Taylor said Peralta was scheduled to take a physical Monday and will be given the opportunity to contribute in a scoring role for the Reign.

Otherwise, Taylor said, "there's not much we want to change. We feel like we could get on a roll.

"It's not panic time yet, but we have to start winning some games."

Alumni update

Four days after posting his second shutout of the American Hockey League season, former Reign goalie Jeff Zatkoff turned in his shortest outing this year for the Manchester Monarchs.

Zatkoff allowed three goals on five shots to start Wednesday's game against the Lowell Devils and was pulled after one period. That raised his goals-against average to 2.17 on the season - which would still rank sixth in the league if Zatkoff had played enough games to qualify.

Forwards Geoff Walker and Jon Rheault have been struggling to find the scoresheet over the past month in Manchester. Rheault has no goals and one assist his past nine games dating to Dec. 12. Walker has no points in his past 10 games dating to Dec. 5.