Las Vegas 2, Reign 1.

Todd Jackson returned to the Reign lineup and scored Ontario’s only goal, but the Reign lost 2-1 to the Las Vegas Wranglers at Orleans Arena on Saturday night.


Jackson could do nothing about the eventual game-winning goal by the Wranglers — he was in the penalty box for tripping at 4:48 of the third period when Shay Stephenson scored to put Las Vegas up 2-0. It was the only power-play goal in nine man-advantage shifts for Las Vegas. The Reign also survived a 40-second long, 5-on-3 penalty kill in the first period.

With 4:15 left in the third period, Jackson halved the Wranglers’ lead with his first goal of the season, taking a pass from Chris Curran, taking advantage of a Michael Pelech screen and firing past Michael Ouzas. It was Jackson’s sixth game of the season and his first since Dec. 11 in Idaho.

Friday night in Ontario, the Reign also fell behind 2-0 early in the third period but were able to come back and tie; they never got the second goal Saturday, even after Curtis Darling (30 saves) was pulled for an extra attacker in the final minute. Ouzas stopped 22 of 23 for the Wranglers (10-14-2-1), who still trail the Reign (13-13-2-1) by six points for second place in the Pacific Division standings.

Reign forward Tony Voce missed his 11th straight game with a strained MCL, and defenseman David Walker did not play a night after suffering a scary head injury.

The Reign have a week off before facing the Wranglers in Las Vegas again on Dec. 26. 

Reign 3, Las Vegas 2, shootout.

Three defensemen — Shawn Germain, Chad Starling and Jon Landry — scored in the shootout, with Germain scoring on the first shootout attempt of his career. Jon Francisco and Greg Hogeboom scored in regulation, the latter coming with 3:14 left in the third period to send the game to overtime tied at 2.


Curtis Darling made 26 saves, and stopped Las Vegas’ Jason Krischuk immediately following Germain’s goal to seal the victory after six shootout rounds. 

There were more fighting majors than goals, with Mike Egener’s quick, one-sided bout with Vegas’ John Schwarz the highlight for the Reign. Earlier Reign captain Jon Francisco got into a rare fight of his own, which resulted in six stitches to close a wound on his upper lip. But the fight served a greater purpose, sparking yet another Reign comeback, this one from a 2-0 deficit.

More details in tomorrow’s editions.

Walker leaves ice after dangerous collision. Updates.

Reign defenseman David Walker left tonight’s game against the Las Vegas Wranglers after colliding into the end boards at 15:01 of the second period. 


Walker was following his missed shot through the right faceoff circle when he tripped — either after making contact with an opponent or on his own power — then slid helmet-first into the boards. Walker lay on the ice for about a minute before slowly rising to his knees, then was helped to his feet by two teammates. Breathing heavily, Walker was able to leave the ice on his own power but walked straight down the tunnel and did not return in the period.

The Reign are trailing 1-0 at second intermission. 

9:26 update: Walker is back on the ice to start the third period. Obviously good news.

10:11 update: Walker is back inside the tunnel. Will try to get more information after the game.

10:51 update: Apparently Walker tried to come back out but eventually decided he wasn’t going to be able to finish the game. No update on his condition was available immediately following the game.

Teubert makes Team Canada’s final cut.

Based on the reputation that has followed him as a junior player in Canada, Wednesday’s announcement was a mere formality: Former Reign defenseman Colten Teubert will play for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.

Teubert played in 14 games last season for the Reign, including both the regular season and the playoffs, collecting two assists and 19 penalty minutes. In 31 games for the Regina Pats this season, he has six goals, 24 assists and 55 penalty minutes.

The World Junior Championships will be held Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Regina, and Team Canada is seeking its sixth consecutive gold medal.

Teubert featured on TSN

TSN has published a new feature on former Reign defenseman Colten Teubert, who is expected to play a prominent role for Team Canada at the upcoming World Juniors tournament: http://www.tsn.ca/world_jrs/story/?id=302354

Also, check out tomorrow’s editions of the Sun and Daily Bulletin for the weekly notebook. Tony Voce returned to the rink for the first time since being placed on injured reserve, and the Reign had a special guest in practice. Read all about it …

Penalties and teddy bears in Idaho.

A captivating topic, right?


If you’ve got a couple minutes, read this description from a Boise TV station’s Web site about the Reign’s win over the Idaho Steelheads last night. It gives further insight into what created the 5-on-3 power plays, and the penalties that followed to give the Reign six man-advantage shifts (they scored four power-play goals and won 5-3). As for the Teddy Bears, check out the photo.

The Reign finished 2-1-0 on the three-game Idaho trip, not bad against a team that’s won more games (19) than any other in the ECHL. They also gained some separation on Stockton and Las Vegas in the Pacific Division standings.

Reign 5, Idaho 3.

A night after being shut out on seven power-play opportunities, the Reign didn’t take any prime scoring chances to chance.


Peter Lenes, Tim Kraus, Mike Howe, Greg Hogeboom and Jon Francisco scored goals — the latter four on the power play — as the Reign skated away with a resounding win at Qwest Arena in Boise. 

The Reign finished 4-for-6 with the man advantage. In so doing they ruined the goals-against average of Steelheads goalie Rejean Beauchemin, who entered the game with the second-lowest GAA in the ECHL. They also solved the league’s second-best penalty kill; Idaho entered the game having killed 85.6 percent of opponents’ power plays.

Curtis Darling stopped 21 of 24 shots for the victory, and Lenes, Hogeboom and Rob Pearce each collected two assists.

More details in tomorrow’s editions.

Idaho 2, Reign 1.

The Reign went 0 for 7 on the power play and were unable to take advantage of a two-man advantage early in the third period, losing 2-1 in Boise.

His team trailing 2-0 at 4:03 of the third period, defenseman Jon Landry scored for the Reign. The Reign (10-12-2-1) looked poised to tie the score two minutes later after three Idaho players were sent to the penalty box in a span of 61 seconds, but could not convert.

Idaho (19-4-0-2), the top team in the ECHL’s West Division, got goals by Marty Flichel in the first period and John Swanson in the second. Curtis Darling stopped 22 of 24 shots, and Idaho’s Rejean Beauchemin had 21 saves.