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Jeff Zatkoff is in uniform and just left the ice after taking part in pregame warmups for the Reign, who drop the puck at 7 p.m. against the Bakersfield Condors at CBBA. That's good news for the Reign, who didn't know how long they would be without their No. 1 goaltender.
It's not clear yet if he will start, though; John Murray played very well in the Reign's last outing, making 42 saves on 44 shots in a 4-2 win in Stockton on Wednesday.
Ontario Reign goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, still recovering from a groin injury sustained last Friday in Fresno, pronounced himself "doubtful" for tomorrow's game in Stockton. John Murray is the probable starter and Dennis Cook suited up in practice Tuesday. Cook is the former Long Beach Ice Dogs emergency backup who was in uniform with the Reign during the preseason, before Zatkoff and Kellen Briggs arrived.
More details in Wednesday morning's editions of the Sun and Bulletin.
The Reign were swept out of Fresno tonight, taking a 1-0 loss on the heels of Friday's 5-2 defeat. More importantly, goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, who started Friday but left with a groin injury, isn't seriously hurt according to Executive VP of Business Operations Justin Kemp.
John Murray, who played the final 54-plus minutes of Friday's game and took the loss, played much better on Saturday. He stopped 29 of 30 shots, good enough on most nights for a victory but not in the Reign's second shutout defeat of the young season.
The first-place Falcons (10-4-1) cushioned their lead in the standings on the second-place Reign (7-6-1-1), 21 points to 16. The Reign don't play again until Wednesday's game up in Stockton, and don't play at home again until next Friday against the Bakersfield Condors.
The Ontario Reign, proud affiliate of the NHL Los Angeles Kings and the AHL Manchester Monarchs have teamed up with the American Red Cross to hold a Southern California Fire Victims Relief Drive on Friday, November 28, to help aid victims devastated by the recent Southern California fires.
From 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 28, the Reign will be collecting donations at Ontario Mills Mall, located at One Mills Circle in Ontario and at Victoria Gardens, in the food pavilion, located at 12505 North Main St. in Rancho Cucamonga, along with the help of the Red Cross and local radio stations, 99.1 KGGI and 99.9 KOLA. Beginning at 5:30 p.m. the Reign will be collecting donations at the Citizens Business Bank Arena prior to their game versus the Bakersfield Condors at 7 p.m.
All fans that make a donation of $10 or more to the American Red Cross, at one of the three Reign locations, will receive two upper level tickets to the Reign's home game on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. versus the Alaska Aces.
If you're planning on going to tonight's Kings-Ducks game at Honda Center at 5 p.m., you might not want to take the 57 Freeway South. It's blocked off completely in both directions in the Diamond Bar area. Your other best option is to take the 15 Freeway south to the 91 West, then catch the 57 South in Anaheim. Also, the 71 Freeway through Chino Hills and Chino is now open.
Further, fans in attendance at tonight's game will have the opportunity to join the two teams in supporting fire victims and local firefighters.
Monetary donations will be accepted at the following games:
Los Angeles @ Anaheim (Honda Center, tonight at 5 p.m.)
Washington @ Anaheim (Honda Center, Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m.)
Washington @ Los Angeles (STAPLES Center, Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m.)
Donations will be taken at Honda Center (all entrances) beginning at 3:30 p.m. today.
In addition, the Kings Care Foundation and the Samueli Foundation will each be donating $25,000 to fire victims.
"Like everyone else, we have been watching the devastation caused by these fires, and we have been saddened by the great loss," said Luc Robitaille, Kings President, Business Operations. "The Kings are pleased to partner with the Anaheim Ducks to offer assistance, and we continue to thank and support the tremendous work performed by our local fire officials during this time."
"Our hearts go out to the families who have been affected by the Southern California fires," said Samueli Foundation Chair Susan Samueli. "This weekend's events have greatly impacted our community and we're hopeful that local hockey fans can join the two teams in supporting this worthy cause."
- Goaltender Jeff Zatkoff 36 of the 39 shots he faced in the loss.
- Jon Rheault currently holds a 4-game point streak with his assist in Friday's match (2g, 5a = 7 points) (11/5-11/15)
- Maxime Boisclair holds a 4-game point streak with his assist in Friday's match (1g, 3a = 4 points) (11/8-11/15)
- Francisco brought the Reign even 15 seconds into a power play at 12:38 of the third period. It took a perfect pass from Boisclair, from the opposite faceoff circle to Francisco, who was waiting on the doorstep.
- The Reign embark on a three-game road trip beginning next Friday in Fresno.
It's military appreciation night at Citizens Business Bank Arena, but the scheduled 4:30 p.m. fly-over was cancelled due to fires in the area. Reign hockey is still set for a 7 p.m. puck drop against the Stockton Thunder, and the live music outside (courtesy of Amy Scruggs) sounds nice.
This move isn't a complete surprise; the idea had been bandied about in previous weeks and Brian France said in a recent interview that NASCAR was taking a long look at banning testing to save money. But still...
From Reid Spencer of Sporting News' NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- There will be no testing in 2009, other than Goodyear tire testing, on racetracks that host events in NASCAR's top three touring series and Camping World East and West Regional Series, NASCAR president Mike Helton announced Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In a response to difficult economic times and to team owners clamoring for relief from the high costs of fielding race teams, NASCAR made its dramatic decision five months after floating the idea of unlimited testing in June.
Since then, more restrictive policies have been discussed, such as limiting testing to 24 or 16 dates per organization per year. But the worsening economy, which impacts race teams trying to find full sponsorship for their efforts, moved NASCAR to impose the ban for 2009.
The cost savings to team owners could be as much as $1 million per car per year.
Accordingly, there will be no traditional Preseason Thunder test sessions at Daytona International Speedway in January. The policy severely limits tracks where NASCAR teams can test -- with Kentucky Speedway, Nashville Speedway and Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway now on the banned list -- and could prove a windfall for Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway, which does not host NASCAR-sanctioned events in any of the affected series.
"There were a lot of variables that went along with this conversation," Helton said. "Of course, one of them was the typical preseason testing that goes on in Daytona getting ready for Speedweeks. The ultimate decision was that the best-case scenario for this decision was no means no -- and to be applied across the board for the entire season."
Kyle Busch applauded the decision.
"I think it's great," said the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who has won eight Cup races this year but none since the Chase began. "We came out of the box strong and had a great racecar at the beginning of the season then we fell behind everybody else.
"We went and tested but didn't really learn anything from what we already had. Everybody else sort of passed us up a little bit, so we sort of need the testing now to catch back up, but I'm fine without it. Our stuff hasn't changed all year, and that's why you see us fall a little bit behind and kind of get surpassed by everybody. I don't know what else we're really going to learn, so they might as well ban it for everybody else."
One driver who disagreed was two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, for whom testing was an invaluable resource in competing for a third straight title.
"I think it's a mistake," Johnson said. "I think the teams need a chance to work on their cars to improve their programs, to put on a better show. If we had this rule at the start of this year, with all the development work that needed to be done with the car -- not only for the No. 48 team but the whole series -- I don't think we'd be where we are today.
"I do understand and recognize that we need to cut expenses. I feel a good compromise of the two would be to allow the teams to run data acquisitions (telemetry) on Friday."
Johnson's team owner, Rick Hendrick, also added a dissenting voice.
"I wanted to continue testing," Hendrick said. "But I'm going to do what NASCAR tells us to do. I think we'll have to see how it goes for a year... It could be a substantial savings with motors, tires and people traveling around."
Hendrick agrees that allowing data acquisition on the first day at the track -- which is prohibited under current rules -- would be a valuable compromise.
Helton indicated NASCAR has yet to decide on the policies for race weekends. Issues still to be addressed include track time for rookies and the best ways to continue the development of NASCAR's new racecar.
Teams also will be lining up to participate in Goodyear tire tests, which will provide rare opportunities for drivers to test on tracks where they compete. Helton said NASCAR will work with the teams and the tire maker to ensure an equitable selection of teams invited to tire tests.
Upland's most famous hockey player, recent Reign cut Itan Chavira, might want to call up his former tryout compadres Mike Thomson, C.J. Tozzo and Alex Redmond if he's looking for quick employment.
A quick Google reveals that Thomson, Tozzo and Redmond - three of the open-tryout invitees who played for the Reign in the preseason - have latched on with the Eastern Professional Hockey League.
It's apparently a new league, likely a rare find in this economy, with teams in Danbury, Conn.; West Orange, N.J.; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Exeter, N.H.; and Brooklyn.
Looks like Redmond, a tall, fluid-skating forward from San Jose, had a couple goals last week for the Danbury Mad Hatters. Thomson and Tozzo play for the Brooklyn Aces.
The Reign still haven't won through two games in Utah, falling 3-2 in a shootout Friday night to the Utah Grizzlies. (Itan Chavira fans, voice your frustrations now).
Actually, the Reign shouldn't have needed a shootout specialist to win this game - they didn't allow a goal for 57 minutes before surrendering two power-play goals that allowed the Grizzlies to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Tim Kraus and Geoff Walker scored first-period goals for the Reign, and goaltender John Murray stopped 40 of 42 shots. Jeff Zatkoff was given the night off in the middle game of a three-game series in Utah that concludes tonight.
Walker, Dan Knapp, Dusty Collins and Andrew Martens collected assists.
The Grizzlies' James Sixsmith was the only shooter to score in the shootout.
Sorry for being a little late on this, but Ontario resident Jason Bowles gets his name dropped in this story, about the NASCAR Camping World West Series end-of-year celebration in Sacramento, for finishing second in the season standings.
Reign goaltender Jeff Zatkoff is the CCM Vector ECHL Rookie of the Month for October.
Selected in the third round (74th overall) by Los Angeles in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and under NHL contract to the Kings, the 21-year-old was 4-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.20 and a save percentage of .935 as the Reign began their inaugural season 4-2-0.
He won his first professional game by making 29 saves in a 2-1 win at Bakersfield on Oct. 18. He improved to 3-0-0 after making 28 saves in a 4-2 win at Las Vegas on Oct. 23 and stopping 34 shots in a 4-1 win against Las Vegas in Ontario's home opener on Oct. 25. He closed out the month making a career-high 37 saves in a 3-2 win at Phoenix.
I spoke to Itan Chavira on the phone during the Reign's 3-2 loss to the Utah Grizzlies on Wednesday night. He says he's been released from his contract, but will stay with the Reign until Sunday when the team flies back to Ontario.
Chavira's release comes as no surprise - the Reign added Jon Rheault and Maxime Boisclair to the roster the previous two days. Rheault was signed by the Reign but had spent the season in the American Hockey League when injuries hit the Kings' AHL affiliate in Manchester, N.H. Boisclair was acquired in a trade from Charlotte of the ECHL for the rights to John Adams on Monday. Both Rheault and Boisclair are more experienced forwards than Chavira and probably more skilled all-around players.
But it was a feel-good story while it lasted for Chavira, who just turned 21 on Sunday. He grew up in West Covina, now lives with his parents in Upland, and had been yearning for the chance to play at home after trading in his roller blades for hockey skates full-time just two years ago. He was the team's first hero, electrifying Center Ice Arena by scoring the winning shootout goal with a flourish, in the Reign's first game of the preseason. And he got into his first and only regular-season game Saturday against Phoenix, this time at CBBA. He looked out of place at times, but at least he got his chance. It probably won't be Chavira's last pro hockey game, but it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
As for the Utah game, goals by Brad Mehalko and Tim Kraus weren't enough to give the win to goalie Jeff Zatkoff, who stopped 34 of 37 shots. More details in tomorrow's editions.
Some other transactions: Jon Francisco was activated from the 3-day IR. Left wing Ryan MacGregor was placed on 3-day IR, forward Mike Howe was placed on the 7-day IR and defenseman Ryan Card was moved to the 30-day IR.
Jon Rheault (pronounced RO) appeared for one game in Reign training camp before injuries hit the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings' AHL affiliate, and earned him a call-up. He netted one goal in seven games before being sent back down Tuesday. No word yet whether or not Rheault will be in uniform for the Reign's contest tomorrow night in Utah.
Including yesterday's trade that sent the rights to John Adams to Charlotte for Maxime Boisclair, the Reign have added two forwards in the last two days. (Adams also had been "stuck" in the AHL and hasn't played for the Reign this season.)
So where does that leave Itan Chavira?
Reached by phone in Utah on Tuesday night, Chavira said he wasn't sure.
"I don't know yet. I seriously - (coach) Karl (Taylor) hasn't said anything to me yet. I'll find out tomorrow. I don't know what to think."
"I'm here now (in Utah). My time could be short here. This could be my last road trip. We'll see. I know what's going on, just trying to figure it out. Just trying to figure out a game plan - if I get dropped, I'll have to come up with a game plan."
The Upland resident, the only player to make the regular-season roster out of the open tryout, was effectively 20th on the Reign's 20-man active roster. He was placed on 3-day IR to start the season and sat out every game before Saturday, when an injury to Jon Francisco allowed Chavira to make his pro debut in the Reign's 2-0 loss to the Phoenix Roadrunners.
One of my guilty pleasures is to read the comments left on NASCAR Scene's online stories. It's not so much to torture myself by correcting NASCAR fans' grammar, but to see what gets their blood boiling. Turns out, it's not always Dale Earnhardt Jr.
This week it was David Gilliland, who cut his teeth in the Inland Empire (Chino Hills and Riverside) and cut open Juan Pablo Montoya's car Sunday in Texas. Gilliland's car was ordered to the garage after he wrecked Montoya out of the race ... or did he? If you're a Gilliland fan, you'll be interested to see how the rest of NASCAR nation is either standing up for, or going after, your boy.
Check it out: http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/David_Gilliland_parked_after_tagging_Juan_Pablo_Montoya_.html
From Joani Lynch at Mammoth Mountain:
A powerful storm hit the Eastern Sierra over the weekend dropping up to 18 inches of snow on Mammoth Mountain. By late Sunday, resort operators made the decision to open the slopes for skiing and riding on Monday, November 3, a full 10 days prior to schedule.
Mammoth's high elevation and a firm commitment to the pursuit of playing big will pay off for skiers and snowboarders when Broadway Express opens at 9am on a base of 6-12 inches.