ONTARIO — The Reign had a heck of a feelgood story Saturday night, even if the ending wasn’t exactly storybook.

A chain of events that started a week and a half ago with Kings goalie Jonathan Quick’s lower body injury reached critical mass when 22-year-old Jonah Imoo became Ontario’s starting goaltender against San Jose … and his 46-year-old father, Kings organizational goaltending coach Dusty Imoo, was his backup.

“It’s really hard to describe,” Jonah said.

But this might suffice: When he called his mother in Surrey, B.C., to break the news after being told Saturday morning, this was the reaction:

“She just started laughing, it was so bizarre,” he said.

Jonah, who had a total of three games professional experience before Saturday night, acquitted himself pretty well. He faced 31 shots, and made some big saves, including a couple of key stops in overtime. He wound up with a 5-4 loss when San Jose’s Daniel O’Regan scored at 3:29 of three-on-three play with all of its breakaways and open ice, which was probably a fitting ending to a helter-skelter defensive effort by Ontario.

Jonah was signed by the Reign on a Professional Tryout Contract shortly before the season opener to back up Jack Campbell, after Peter Budaj was recalled to the Kings because of Quick’s injury.

And it just so happened that the Kings needed another goalie Saturday, after Jeff Zatkoff injured his groin in practice.

So Campbell was summoned to Los Angeles, Jonah Imoo was the starter by default, and the backup was his dad, whose last competitive game as a goaltender took place in 2006 in the Japanese professional league.

Who was more nervous? Dad.

“The whole day was a bit nutty,” said Dusty, who had been at the Kings’ headquarters at El Segundo when he was told what was happening Saturday morning. “The drive here wasn’t as pleasant as usual, but I had a lot of time to think about it so by the time I got here I was OK. I talked to Jonah and got him on track, and told him it would be business as usual.

“I knew there’d be a lot of attention drawn to it. It’s enough pressure for a kid like that going into this situation, never mind having your dad backing you up. I tried to defuse it early, but inside I was more nervous than he was. He looked like he was ready to go.”

Prior to Saturday night, Jonah Imoo’s lone professional experience consisted of one game with the Louisiana IceGators of the Southern Professional Hockey League (four goals against in 30 minutes of play), and two games with the Port Huron Prowlers of the Federal Hockey League (one win, one loss, five goals against). His last competitive game was last Christmas.

“It’s been a really long time,” he said. “I had a bad year. I broke my finger, got traded, then had surgery, and that ended my season there. I was really excited to get this opportunity.”

It almost seemed as if he’d been thrown to the wolves against San Jose. He was playing behind a team that had given up five goals and 35 shots the night before against Texas and, to put it politely, did not impress coach Mike Stothers at all with its defensive play in front of Campbell that night.

San Jose had 11 of the game’s first 13 shots and created a good amount of traffic in front of the kid. The Barracuda had leads of 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3, with goals by Marcus Sorensen, Kevin Labanc, Joakim Ryan and Nikolay Goldobin. Sorensen’s goal deflected off an Ontario defenseman, Ryan’s was a high shot on which Imoo was screened, Labanc’s was a tipin and Goldobin’s was a clean shot from the right circle.

Each time the Reign tied it, with Patrick Bjorkstrand scoring twice and Brett Sutter and Andrew Crescenzi adding goals, the latter at 2:44 of the third period to tie it 4-4.

Along the way, the Barracuda also hit a post or two, and Jonah made some pro quality saves and also survived a video review. And late in the game he had some fans serenading him with “Imoooooooooo.”

“Honest to God, I know he let in five, but he looked confident out there,” Dusty said. “This was a tough game … there was a lot of traffic and stuff, but anything he saw he was good with. He said he felt good.”

And he had Dad, wearing No. 70 and tending the gate to the bench, to lean on when he came to the bench during stoppages.

“He’ll usually just look at me and I can tell if he wants some input or to get feedback,” Dusty said.

Added Jonah: “Actually, it’s kind of a little more relaxing. He’s my dad. He knows exactly what to say to me in every situation. He’s been my goalie coach and my mentor my whole life. I knew that at every timeout he was going to have some reassuring things to say to me.

“Even if he wasn’t there, I’m sure I would have handled it pretty well.”

He’ll get another chance. As for Dad?

“Management has been on it,” Dusty said. “I don’t think they want a 46-year-old backup for too long.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: jalexander@pe.com

On Twitter: @Jim_Alexander