Thanksgiving came a day early to at Citrus Park in Upland.
Reign players pitched in at the Passion of Christ homeless ministry’s annual Thanksgiving feast. Here are a few photos from the event:
Continue reading “Thanksgiving in Upland.” »
Four days after JP Cote became the first Reign player recalled to the American Hockey League, defensemen Dylan Yeo and Mike Montgomery found out they will be joining him soon. On Tuesday, Yeo was loaned to the Oklahoma City Barons and Montgomery to the St. John’s IceCaps.
When healthy, Yeo and Montgomery skated on the same pair and played significant minutes for the Reign. Yeo, the team captain, provided the speed and the offense (one goal and eight assists in eight games). Montgomery added size and the physical presence around the net. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound rookie was scoreless with a minus-4 rating through 14 games.
Continue reading “Yeo, Montgomery get AHL call-ups.” »
Kevin Baker knocked in the game-winning goal off a rebound at 11:45 of the third period, and Olivier Roy’s 40 saves buried the Reign in a game they dominated for the better part of 60 minutes.
Stockton scored twice in the third period to erase a 2-1 Reign lead. Jean-Francois Berube made 24 saves in his first start since recording a shutout last Saturday in Alaska. He couldn’t be blamed for the defensive-zone giveaway that led to Milan Kytnar’s game-tying goal, nor the lack of a backcheck that gave Baker ample time and space on the doorstep to put back Cameron Abney’s shot and break the 2-2 deadlock.
Geoff Irwin and Derek Couture scored the Reign’s only goals, both on 5-on-3 power plays. That’s about what it took to beat Roy, who raised both arms and jumped (a little) after the final horn sounded. It’s only November, but he played well enough to earn it. Talking to Dylan Yeo after the game, the biggest disappointment for the Reign was not cashing in on their many chances.
More details in tomorrow’s editions of the Sun and Daily Bulletin. A few more notes:
Continue reading “Stockton 3, Reign 2.” »
Stockton Thunder center Gabriel Levesque remained in a hospital Thursday morning, and could face season-ending hip surgery after being hit into the boards in the Reign’s 4-2 win Wednesday.
Thunder coach Matt Thomas said that “they’re still trying to figure out exactly the overall seriousness of it but the early diagnosis doesn’t look promising.” Levesque is expected to be released sometime today and then will meet with his team doctor to determine if surgery is necessary.
“The good thing is it’s not something that required emergency surgery,” Thomas said. “That’s a positive thing, in terms of the ability to heal from it.”
Levesque left Citizens Business Bank Arena on a gurney, lying on his left side — not his back — and looking dazed, if not unconscious. Thomas said he didn’t know if Levesque lost consciousness, only that the 21-year-old center “was in a lot of pain. Serious pain.”
Thomas also said that a video review showed that the initial high-stick that clipped Levesque in the face came from Reign left wing Geoff Irwin, not that of right wing Derek Couture, who received a high-sticking penalty on the play. Couture delivered the hard hit immediately after Levesque was high-sticked and let go of the puck.
Asked if it was a clean hit, Thomas said: “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I don’t think it was just because it was more of a — it wasn’t a body check. It was like he pushed him. Is it a dirty hit? I don’t know. It’s a push. I’m sure Couture didn’t want to hurt him, but Levesque was in a bad spot when he got pushed.”
The Reign probably won’t frame Tuesday’s victory and hang it on a wall, but it could serve as a good jolt in the arm. (The team actually has some framed photographs of victory scenes hanging around their locker room, so the cliche works.)
Despite getting pushed around for the better part of three periods, and playing sloppy, turnover-prone hockey on occasion, they left CBBA with a series-opening 4-2 win. Chris Cloud had a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick” — a goal, assist and fight — and the line of Geoff Irwin, C.J. Stretch and Derek Couture dominated the Thunder all night, combining for three goals, four assists and a plus-4 rating.
Stretch in particular was being draped all night, but still managed to shed the defense for a goal and two assists — both primary assists from behind the net on goals by Irwin.
“It’s frustrating for him,” Couture said. “Teams are going to look at his stats, see that Stretch is leading the team in points and play hard on him. … He fought through it.”
On a night when the Reign were outshot 37-23, the final score could have been quite a bit higher. But Darcy Kuemper heated up as the game went along, stopping 35 of 37 shots – including 16 in the final 20 minutes.
J.D. Watt had two assists, defenseman Chris Huxley played a solid defensive game and finished plus-3, and Shayne Neigum delivered a spirited bout with Stockton’s Jordan Foreman in the third period.
Plenty more details in tomorrow’s editions of the Sun and Daily Bulletin. A few notes that won’t make the paper:
Continue reading “Reign 4, Stockton 2.” »
Darcy Kuemper didn’t dress for the Minnesota Wild against the Kings or the Ducks during his two-day NHL recall last weekend. If anything, the real-world equivalent of Kuemper’s experience might be akin to a “take-your-kid-to-work” day.
But if you’ve ever taken your children to work (and you have a cool job), or if you’re young enough to remember going to mom or dad’s workplace, you’ll know that it can be a cool experience. Kuemper certainly played it cool when I asked him about it after the morning skate.
Continue reading “Darcy Kuemper on his big NHL weekend.” »
I caught up with new Reign forward Tristan King after the morning skate today. King, who split last season between the AHL and the ECHL, had a goal and two assists last weekend in the Reign’s three-game series in Alaska. The Reign are his third ECHL team already this season, following stints in Idaho and Greenville. He’s on an NHL contract to the Dallas Stars, who signed him as a free agent last year.
Since it’s hard to pin down the narrative having never seen King play, here are my questions and his answers:
Continue reading “Who is Tristan King, and what is he doing here?” »
Four folding chairs sat in a row leading into the Reign locker room Tuesday, the makeshift “lockers” painting a plain picture that space was suddenly at a premium.
Locker-room space, of course, relates directly to salary-cap space and roster space, and that meant Dustin Carlson’s stay as the Reign’s third goalie ended Tuesday. Carlson was released in advance of tonight’s game against the Stockton Thunder, in which Darcy Kuemper is expected to start and J-F Berube to back up.
“Practice time is huge, and it’s tough having three goaltenders,” Reign coach Jason Christie said. “Sometimes you have to adjust. We’re getting players healthy here, so it comes down to cap space and having guys active. That’s the reality we’re looking at.”
Carlson went 0-1 with a 4.16 goals-against average and a .857 save percentage in two appearances this season. Both appearances came last weekend in Alaska, coming off the bench after the Aces had a big first period against Berube and the Reign.
A longshot to make the team after joining camp on a tryout, Carlson was retained as an unofficial emergency backup in case of injury or promotion to Berube or Darcy Kuemper. The Wild recalled Kuemper to the NHL last weekend, giving Carlson his lone, brief opportunity in the crease before Kuemper returned to Ontario (more on that in a future blog).
So who are the injured players and when will they come back? The latest updates, ranked by this beat writer’s predicted order of return (soonest to farthest away):
Continue reading “Carlson is released, injury updates.” »
Goalie Darcy Kuemper was back for practice Tuesday, after
spending the weekend with the Minnesota Wild for games against the Kings and
the Ducks. Kuemper didn’t play for the Wild but he got to experience the NHL
for two days, and will “probably” get the start tomorrow against Stockton,
Reign coach Jason Christie said.
Philippe Seydoux (flu) was the only player not on the ice.
Apparently the flu has hit a few players, as road trips to Alaska always have
potential to turn a slight cough into a mild epidemic. No word yet on Seydoux’s
availability for tomorrow.
Got our first look at Tristan King, the Dallas Stars prospect
who was assigned to the Reign prior to the Alaska trip. King, who had one goal
and two assists in the three-game series, “is a player that has just got to
push himself a little bit, Christie said. “His skill is something that he’s –
that’s what he’s got, but he’s got to come in and play both ends of the ice
hard.”
King skated with Brady Calla and Matt Tassone over the
weekend, but not Tuesday.
Dylan Yeo was wearing a red (non-contact) jersey and
participated in nearly all aspects of practice, but it doesn’t look like he’ll
be back tomorrow. If that’s the case, expect defenseman JP Cote to wear a
letter again – just not the captain’s “C” he wore in Alaska. The team didn’t
have an “A” to stitch on the road sweaters; otherwise Cote would have worn one.
He’ll get one tomorrow with the Reign at home.
Pick up tomorrow’s editions of the Sun and Daily Bulletin if you want to read about the emergence of the team’s leading scorer.
Here were the line rushes and defense pairs in practice:
Continue reading “Kuemper is back, flu bug, other notes from practice.” »
Puck drop is less than two hours away in Alaska, but here’s a brief update on Darcy Kuemper, who was officially recalled by the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and added to their NHL roster prior to today’s game in Anaheim …
Courtesy of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune,
Darcy Kuemper got to watch tonight’s game from
the press box with injured Mike Lundin and Stoner. In a neat thing, the
Wild recalled Kuemper from ECHL Ontario (Calif.) so he can take the ice
during the Wild’s optional morning skate Sunday at Anaheim’s Honda
Center.That means Kuemper, 21, the Western Hockey League’s Player and Goalie
of the Year last season, will earn his first NHL paycheck and a day’s
per diem before being reassigned — likely Monday.
So give it 24 hours. Unless Josh Harding or Niklas Backstrom is injured in the Ducks-Wild game tonight, Kuemper could be back soon.