Where the Reign reigns

First Reign-Eagles clip from Friday hits YouTube.

2012-02-25T20:35:19Z

Friday's 9-8 shootout win over the Colorado Eagles was a momentous one for the Reign.

It clinched the team's first playoff berth since the inaugural 2008-09 season with a full 18 games left in the regular season. It pulled the team within two points of first place. It set a season-high in goals scored and allowed several players to pad their stats and streaks:

• Kyle Kraemer (two goals, assist) has assists in six straight games and points in 13 straight - both the second-longest active streaks in the ECHL.

• Everett Sheen (goal, two assists) has goals in four straight games, which matches the longest active streak in the ECHL.

• Tristan King (three assists), Derek Couture (three assists), Alan Mazur (three assists) and Chris Huxley (goal, two assists) all had three-point games.

But let's also not forget this light moment, the one that earned Eagles coach Chris Stewart a game misconduct in the second period:

It's the kind of only-in-minor-league-hockey clip that tends to gain traction on the internets. It might even get the touch of gold that is a SportsCenter plug.

The Reign make a trade, and who's in the lineup tomorrow?

2012-02-15T05:31:05Z

The Reign traded the rights to defenseman Mike Montgomery to the Reading Royals for left wing Everett Sheen on Tuesday. While coach Jason Christie hasn't done too much wheeling and dealing the past couple months, perhaps the only question is why this move (or something similar) didn't happen sooner.

Montgomery, who has been on loan to the American Hockey League's Houston Aeros all month, had one goal and one assist in 27 games with the Reign. The 25-year-old rookie has played 10 games in the AHL during three separate stints (two with Houston, one with St. John's). Six of those games have come during the last two weeks, and it could be that Montgomery is becoming an established piece of the Aeros' blue-line corps.

That's a little ironic, since Montgomery was skating at forward for the Reign just prior to his February promotion.

Ever since Christie lured defensemen Alan Mazur from England, and Mike Gabinet from temporary retirement, both players have been productive. That's left little room for Montgomery, Jason Fredricks and lately Pat Bowen to play their natural position. Mazur and Gabinet also have more experience than Montgomery, a quality Christie was looking to add to a young roster. As responsible as Montgomery is -- both with and without the puck -- he simply wasn't needed anymore. The Royals can deal with the question of if and when Montgomery will come back from Houston.

What do we know about Sheen?

]]> He's a 25-year-old rookie out of Holy Cross College in Boston, Mass. Last year he was the Crusaders' captain, leading goal-scorer (17-18-35 in 38 games) and team MVP. The year before he was a co-captain, and his 149 games are a school record. As a freshman, he skated alongside former Reign forward Dale Reinhardt.

Sheen had a brief AHL stint with the Syracuse Crunch at the end of last season, but did not appear in a game. This season he got into four games with the Providence Bruins and did not register a point.

In 33 games with the Royals, Sheen scored five goals and dished out four assists. He also has 15 penalty minutes, one-third of which came in this fight:

A native of Lethbridge, Alberta, Sheen began his hockey journey in the second-tier Alberta Junior Hockey League, playing for the Crowsnest Pass Timberwolves, Canmore Eagles, Drumheller Dragons and Okotoks Oilers.

Word is that Sheen wasn't getting much playing time in Reading. That shouldn't be a problem in Ontario.

J.D. Watt is on injured reserve with a hairline fracture in his foot and is not expected to return for at least another two weeks. Brady Calla has a hand injury that will keep him out of tomorrow night's game in Stockton, though he isn't expected to be out long-term.

Although Sheen won't be in uniform tomorrow night either, Derek Couture and Chris Cloud will, having served their five-game ECHL suspensions. That should allow the Reign to go back to a more familiar lineup (the defense pairings and forward combos are pure guesses on my part):

Estrada-Stretch-Couture
Irwin-King-Kraemer
Cloud-Bagron-Fredricks

Huxley-LoVerde
Tarasuk-Gabinet
Van de Mosselaer-Mazur/Bowen

Calla and Sheen will give the Reign more flexibility at forward once they're ready to suit up. It's a luxury they could have used last week once the suspensions were levied but, with the team riding an 8-1-1 streak, there's been little reason to tinker with the roster.

Reign hit hard with suspensions.

2012-02-08T01:33:41Z

The Reign will be forced to play without their leading goal scorer, their top fighter and their highest-scoring defenseman for the near future.

The ECHL suspended right wing Derek Couture for five games, left wing Chris Cloud for four games and defenseman Steven Tarasuk for three games as "a result of actions prior to" Saturday night's 6-4 victory over the Utah Grizzlies. Cloud was also suspended a fifth game "under Rule #23.7, which states any player who incurs a total of three (3) game misconduct penalties for fighting-related infractions shall be automatically suspended for his team's next game."

All three players were fined, as were head coach Jason Christie and the Reign organization.

The league also suspended Grizzlies defenseman Cody Lampl (four games), center Jordan Foreman (four games), and defenseman Matt Sorteberg (three games). They were fined along with two other Utah players (center Mitch Wahl and defenseman Nick Tuzzolino), coach Kevin Colley and the Grizzlies organization.

After Saturday's game, Colley said that Reign players were "shooting slapshots down at our guys in warmup." Reign coach Jason Christie said Monday that pucks were flying in both directions during the warmup period, and he was not disappointed with his team's response.

Messages left for Christie and Reign president Justin Kemp were not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.

Couture, Cloud, Tarasuk, Lampl, Foreman and Sorteberg all received fighting majors and game misconducts. The game-misconduct penalties will be counted toward each player's suspension, meaning Couture and Cloud are eligible to return next Wednesday against Stockton, and Tarasuk is eligible to return this Saturday against Utah.
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Cloud has five goals and 13 points in 27 games, and his 120 penalty minutes are second on the team to Couture. His 12 fighting majors lead the team and rank fifth in the ECHL.

Tarasuk leads all Reign defensemen with six goals, 20 assists, 26 points and 13 power-play assists this season. He is the only Reign player who has appeared in all 44 games this season, a streak that will end tomorrow night.

Brawl video goes viral; Estrada is suspended; Reign react.

2012-01-30T23:54:02Z

In case you missed Saturday's game-ending brawl between the Reign and Bakersfield Condors, here is the YouTube video:

A couple things about this video:

]]> 1, It's made the rounds and then some - ESPN, ESPN.com Yahoo.com, even the front page of sport.sk, which is based in Slovakia.

2, It was uploaded by the Bakersfield Condors to their official YouTube channel.

The Reign's biggest point of contention Monday was not with anything that was done by the Condors - Estrada said Ian McKenzie's check was "probably a clean hit" - but something that was said.

After Estrada jumped in to an altercation between Bakersfield's Justin Pender and Ontario defenseman ~~Chris Huxley~~ Mike Montgomery, Condors color commentator Ryan Holt calls Estrada's actions "gutless." (You can hear this at the 4:20 mark of the YouTube clip.) That drew the ire of Estrada and Reign coach Jason Christie.

Estrada said he explained in an e-mail to Condors play-by-play man Kevin Bartl that he had been provoked by Pender (there's evidence of this at the 1:25 mark of the video). Bartl, according to Estrada, replied with an apology.

Estrada and Condors defenseman Tyson Gimblett were both suspended one game by the ECHL; Estrada will miss tomorrow's game against the Alaska Aces.

Christie thinks Holt, the Condors' color commentator, should be disciplined.

"I really like how our guys stuck together. That's hockey," Christie said. "You're going to have those days and those situations. I don't like the of how they can sit there and criticize my players because they work hard and they compete. They're getting called soft, they're getting called -- their radio guy called them gutless - that's unfair. We've got a guy who's an honest player and survived a plane crash and they've got a radio guy calling them gutless. I'd like to re-visit that avenue, if there is a way.

"If it helps them sell a couple more tickets here and there, that's great," the coach continued. "I'm just not a big fan of probably a guy who's never played the game, don't know much about him, but to call somebody gutless it doesn't sit well.

"When the players are held accountable, why shouldn't this guy be held accountable? I think it's a black eye on our league, this guy saying that stuff."

More in tomorrow's editions of the Sun and Daily Bulletin

Voting open for ECHL "Silver Skater" team.

2012-01-19T05:43:46Z

This is usually the time of year when the ECHL is making preparations for its annual All-Star Game. However, for the first time since 1993, there will be no game this season.

In its stead is something much cheaper and arguably more fun. Through February 5, fans can vote online for the "2012 Silver Skater Fantasy Team," a concept that seems entirely unique based on its description on the ECHL website.

Fans are allowed one vote per e-mail address to choose one player on each team who will wear a "special Silver Skater jersey" during a select home game. There are no criteria for how to vote. You could, conceivably, vote for the worst player on each team -- although this appears to be discouraged by listing four players under each team's logo (they all seem to be having good seasons). Write-in votes are allowed, however. The top two vote-getters will wear the special jersey.

We don't know what the jerseys will look like, but an educated guess is that the snazzy logo you see at right will be featured prominently. No word yet as to when the Reign have scheduled their "Silver Skater" home game.

The four Reign players listed are C.J. Stretch, Derek Couture, Vincent LoVerde and Chris Huxley. It's tempting to list the merits of each player at this point, but since there really are no voting criteria, it's hard to tell where to begin. (Who looks best in silver??)

Still, as alternate ideas go, this one has its merits. The concept of minor-league all-star games is inherently flawed, since the best players in the league are getting promoted to the AHL on a daily basis. Staging a game is a logistical headache -- just ask anyone who was around when the ECHL All-Star Game was played at CBBA in 2010. This is less formal and less expensive and, thus, more appropriate to the concept. Even if it has no criteria.

Trade brings Lewadniuk back to Pacific Division; more notes.

2012-01-13T02:04:13Z

Former Reign forward Aaron Lewadniuk probably planned on making three trips to Ontario before this season ended -- two in February, one in March. Now he figure to make just one, on Monday.

The Idaho Steelheads traded Lewadniuk to the Bakersfield Condors on Thursday for forward Michael Gergen. The struggling Condors (8-24-3-1), already 13 points behind the Steelheads for the seventh and final playoff position in the ECHL's Western Conference, visit the Reign for a rare 1 p.m. game Monday at CBBA. That is Bakersfield's only road game against the Reign the rest of the way; the Condors also host the Reign Jan. 27 and 28.

Lewadniuk has seven goals and six assists in 31 games this season for the Steelheads. In his first game against his former team, Lewadniuk scored a goal last Friday in a 5-1 loss to the Reign -- the only goal the Reign have allowed in their last four games.

Incidentally: Geoff Irwin, the player Lewadniuk was traded for, has eight goals and 10 assists in 30 games this season.

Here are some facts and figures that didn't make the game story from the Reign's latest blowout, a 6-0 shutout against Las Vegas last night:
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The team's current streak of seven games with at least a point (6-0-0-1) is third in the ECHL among active streaks. The Alaska Aces have points in 10 straight games (7-0-1-2) and the Elmira Jackals have points in nine straight (9-0-0-0).

Kyle Kraemer (goal, assist, crossbar) has assists in five straight games, which is tied for the longest active streak in the league with Chicago's Kyle Ostrow.

C.J. Stretch (goal, assist) moved into a tie for fourth place in the ECHL scoring race (17 goals, 23 assists, 40 points) with Las Vegas' Adam Miller.

Chris Carrozzi's third shutout of the season moved him into a four-way tie for second among ECHL goalies. Carrozzi lowered his goals-against average to 2.37, which ranks fifth in the league among eligible goalies. Carrozzi's GAA since coming to the Reign is a miniscule 2.06.

Francois Brisebois' assist moved him into a tie for sixth in points (10+15=25) among ECHL rookies.

Steven Tarasuk's two goals moved him into sixth among ECHL defensemen in points (5+18=23).

As a team, the Reign rank second in the league in penalty-kill efficiency (86.3%) after killing all nine Wranglers penalties last night.

By scoring three times in the third period, the Reign matched the Colorado Eagles with a league-leading 45 goals in the third period on the season.

The Reign moved past the Gwinnett Gladiators into third in the ECHL in goals against per game (2.68).

Change on D, other notes from practice.

2012-01-09T23:17:27Z

Monday's practice at Citizens Business Bank Arena was the last for Sean Murray in a Reign uniform, at least for now.

Murray was released Monday afternoon, probably not coincidentally the same day Mike Montgomery was released from his tryout contract with the American Hockey League's Houston Aeros. The timing of the move suggests that Montgomery could well be in the lineup Wednesday, when the Reign host the Las Vegas Wranglers.

In five games with the Reign, playing exclusively as a third-pair defenseman, Murray was scoreless with a minus-1 rating. Montgomery was a minus-5 with no points in 18 games for the Reign during two separate stints.

A couple more notes from practice:
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• Coach Jason Christie said that defenseman Philippe Seydoux, out since Nov. 13 with a concussion, started riding a bike again last week and has reported no setbacks in the meantime. Seydoux began bike work in December but stopped after a recurrence of post-concussion symptoms.

• Christie also said that forward Matt Tassone (back spasms) could return to practice next week. Tassone hasn't played since Dec. 14.

• One more from Christie: Chris Carrozzi, who recorded his second shutout of the season Saturday, figures to start Wednesday.

• I asked several players why the team seems to be playing so well lately - three straight wins, by a cumulative 16-1 score - and got a few different answers. Look for those in tomorrow's editions of the Sun and Daily Bulletin.

Berube in goal, plus more notes.

2012-01-03T00:21:02Z

J-F Berube will get his first start since Dec. 26 tomorrow when the Reign host the Bakersfield Condors.

Berube's last outing was a forgettable one - down to 13 skaters, he was the unlucky goalie as the Reign lost 5-0 to the Las Vegas Wranglers. Still short-handed, the Reign reached back the next four games and went 2-0-1, averaging 36 shots a game with goalie Chris Carrozzi in net.

That impressive feat will be the focus of tomorrow's notebook in the Sun and Daily Bulletin.

Berube has not faced the Condors since opening night, a 5-4 Reign loss.

A few more notes from practice:
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• I caught up with Sean Murray, who made his ECHL debut last Saturday in the Reign's 4-3 shootout loss at Stockton. The rookie defenseman isn't a physically imposing player -- he's listed at 6-1 and 195 -- but he said that "playing on the edge" is integral to his game. "The more physical I play," he said, "the more opportunities I get on the offensive end."

• Geoff Irwin will return from his four-game suspension tomorrow. More from him in tomorrow's notebook.

• The defense pairs were fluid in the drills I saw, but here were the forward combos:

Geoff Irwin-C.J. Stretch-Derek Couture
Kevin Estrada-Francois Brisebois-Kyle Kraemer
Brady Calla-Bill Bagron-Tristan King

Junior Reign squad headed to Canada.

2011-12-22T17:58:40Z

Passing this along from the team's weekly newsletter:

The Bantam B Junior Reign Hockey team won the Silver Stick Regional Championship in San Jose on Sunday, November 27, 2011. As champions, the Jr. Reign will now represent the Pacific District in the Silver Stick International Finals in Pelham, Ontario, Canada from January 5-9, 2012.

In order for the team to be able to travel to Canada to compete in the finals, they need your help with donations for transportation, lodging costs, etc. for the team.

Any donations, no matter the size, would help this team represent Southern California. IVHA - Jr. Reign Hockey Club is a Non-Profit 501-(c)3 organization. Your donation would be tax deductible.

Please contact Jeff Wilhelm, President, at (951) 377-3823 or jwilhelm@jrreign.com.

Christmas caption contest.

2011-12-21T17:02:48Z

In case you missed the invitation yesterday on Facebook or Twitter, this week's Ontario Reign newsletter included at least one photo that deserves a funny caption. I thought the second photo was rife for satire, but some people have already submitted caption suggestions for the first.

**As a bonus, I've been told that the winning caption will be shown on the big video board at the next Reign game. Can't make a promise on that one, but there's your added incentive.

1.

2.

Irwin suspended four games, Couture one.

2011-12-21T00:06:15Z

The Reign will be without two-thirds of their top line when they return to the ice next Monday in Las Vegas.

Left wing Geoff Irwin was suspended four games, and Derek Couture one, by the ECHL on Tuesday for their actions Sunday in Alaska.

Aces defenseman Brandon Gentile slew-footed Couture at 14:30 of the second period of Sunday's game, moments after Francois Brisebois scored the Reign's first goal of the game. That set off a massive brawl with Couture and Gentile in the middle. You can see how it started at the 2:27 mark of this video:

At the 3:08 mark, Couture appears to be the second man in on a fight between Gentile and Reign defenseman Chris Huxley. Couture was given a double game misconduct for his role in the altercation.

Irwin was suspended for an illegal hit to the head; his only penalty in the game was a second-period elbowing minor. "He went through the body clean and he obviously came up high on his follow-through on the hit," Reign coach Jason Christie said. "That's what they're trying to get rid of. It's understandable. He came up a little too high. You don't want to put anybody in jeopardy. "

Kyle Kraemer, who fetched a 10-minute misconduct penalty after taking a hard hit from Alaska's Kane Lafranchise at the end of the second period, was fined an undisclosed amount along with Irwin and Couture.

Alaska 3, Reign 1.

2011-12-17T07:20:08Z

The Reign kicked off their three-game weekend series in Alaska on Friday down two men and two goals.

The Aces walked away with a 3-1 win despite being outshot 34-24. Kevin Estrada scored the Reign's only goal at 7:41 of the third period. It was his first of the season, his first since the 2009-10 season in Germany, and his first in the ECHL since April 10, 2008 as a member of the Victoria Salmon Kings.

Per the Anchorage Daily News account, Estrada "walked out of the right corner, made it to the net and jammed a shot on [Alaska goalie Gerald] Coleman, who had the paddle of his stick down along the ice. Estrada jammed his own rebound through Coleman to cut Alaska's lead to 2-1."

That was as close as the Reign would get. Three minutes and one second later, Wes Goldie scored his 12th goal of the season to make it 3-1. Steve Ward and Gary Nunn scored power-play goals in the second period for the Aces (19-4-1-1), who finished 2-for-5 on the power play.

The Reign (12-10-1-1) are stuck in sixth place in the Western Conference standings, third in the Pacific Division, and failed to gain ground on the second-place Stockton Thunder, who lost 6-2 to Idaho earlier in the night.

Chris Carrozzi stopped 21 of 24 shots. J-F Berube made his first appearance (albeit on the bench) since sustaining a neck injury in practice last month.

Forward Matt Tassone (back) did not accompany the Reign on the trip. Shayne Neigum skated at forward, giving the Reign nine forwards and five defensemen. The 14 skaters are two below the ECHL maximum.

Chris Cloud gets first AHL call-up.

2011-12-14T20:24:01Z

The Reign lost their second forward in three days to the Manchester Monarchs on Wednesday.

Left wing Chris Cloud, who leads the team in major penalties, signed a pro tryout contract with the Kings' American Hockey League affiliate, joining linemate J.D. Watt at the next level. Cloud has five goals, 10 points and 84 penalty minutes this season, appearing in all 22 games. He is tied for second in the ECHL in major penalties with 10.

The Monarchs recently lost center Cam Paddock to a four-game suspension, so Cloud and Watt could conceivably return to the Reign soon.

Still, it's quite an opportunity for Cloud, who spent the last two seasons in the Central Hockey League and has never played in the AHL before.

The Reign could be without two-thirds of their toughest line Friday in Alaska. Count on Shayne Neigum seeing plenty of time at forward, and Kevin Estrada getting a long look in his debut game, with Bill Bagron centering the line.

Chris Carrozzi's claim to fame.

2011-12-13T16:45:44Z

St. John's, Newfoundland, is more than 4,000 miles away from Ontario, California. To say it's half a world away is not inaccurate.

One thing the two cities happen to have in common is hockey; the St. John's IceCaps joined the American Hockey League this season, and even briefly employed a Reign player, defenseman Mike Montgomery.

Reign goalie Chris Carrozzi figured he'd spend some time in St. John's; he is a Winnipeg Jets prospect and the IceCaps are a Jets affiliate. So over the summer he ordered his goalie mask painted in IceCaps colors (after the jump):
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There's his mask, photographed with my blurry BlackBerry photography skills.

Here's the funny thing: It's believed to be the only such mask in existence. And it's sitting 4,000-plus miles away from Newfoundland in (usually) sunny Southern California.

The IceCaps only came into existence over the summer, when the Atlanta Thrashers became the Jets and moved to Winnipeg. (That displaced the local AHL team, the Manitoba Moose, whose franchise charter was flipped to St. John's.) So there hasn't been much time for any IceCaps masks to be minted.

Turns out that none of the three goalies currently employed by the IceCaps -- David Aebischer, Peter Mannino or Edward Pasquale -- have IceCaps-themed masks. Carrozzi's lid has gone where no goalie headgear has gone before. While there may be others in the future, his is the first.

Carrozzi, for his part, maintains a mellow attitude about his claim to fame, but we think it's pretty cool.

Watt recalled, injury updates, other notes from practice.

2011-12-12T22:36:58Z

J.D. Watt became the first Reign forward recalled to the American Hockey League on Monday, when the 24-year-old right wing found out mid-practice that he was headed to the Manchester Monarchs. Watt was scheduled to catch his flight east this afternoon.

Watt, who came to Ontario on an AHL contract, has seven points (one goal, six assists) and 66 penalty minutes in 22 games this season. What he lacks in skill -- his 1.7% shooting accuracy is the lowest among all Reign players with at least 20 shots on goal -- he makes up for in controlled aggression. A familiar presence in the opponent's crease, Watt mostly racked up penalty minutes with his fists, drawing nearly as many minors as he committed.

He's the first Reign forward to be promoted this season. Defensemen JP Cote, Mike Montgomery, Dylan Yeo and goaltender Darcy Kuemper are all currently playing in the AHL. The Reign's forward core has been remarkably consistent this season. Without Watt, here's how they are expected to skate Friday in Alaska:

Geoff Irwin-CJ Stretch-Derek Couture
Kevin Estrada-Francois Brisebois-Kyle Kraemer
Chris Cloud-Bill Bagron-Matt Tassone
Shayne Neigum (forward or defense)

More in tomorrow's editions of the Sun and Daily Bulletin.