Sporting an opinion

Karl Taylor spoke at length Friday about what the off-season looks like for an ECHL coach, what he expects of the players, and how he'll go about building next year's team. Here's some of what won't make it into tomorrow's story...

For a lot of our guys, their work starts now. their season is over, they need to get a little rest and get right back on the horse, make sure they're in the best shape possible. We've got guys who weren't in the best shape, and they need to be in better shape come the fall, whether it's with us or someone else.

We've got lots of guys who have a great future. It depends on how they approach it. Hockey's one of the only sports where it's 'see you later, good luck training,' and hopefully they do the work. We're going to be monitoring a lot of the guys, I'm going to be monitoring guys. They have progress reports they're going to be sending in to me. It doesn't stop now. We have a solid base here, but now we start over because of your turnover.

It's not like your relationship ends with guys. We've been working with guys a full season, and if Player X decides he wants to go to Europe, I'm going to help him go to Europe. We're going to do whatever we can to help our guys. They're part of our fabric now. This is our first year and they set the table on ethics, work ethic.

These end-of-the-year meetings are all based on planning for next season. It's hard when you lose, because nothing is planned. We didn't plan on losing, ever. We had to cancel busses and hotel rooms in two different cities, and so you're planning to play until the end. It's very sudden when it happens. We'd all worked so hard that, when it does occur, it's really hard to take. Whether you deserved it or not, when you're finished playing it stinks. You want to keep playing.

What we've done here, what the players have done, they're part of what we are. That doesn't change. They aren't forgotten. The relationship doesn't stop. I still talk to players I've had two and three years ago. That's the way it is, and that's the way I like it. These guys stay in contact, and if I can help them move on to teams we don't play against, I'll help them do that.

(On his own off-season:) Usually I'll get through this part, clean the guys out, get everything done with the apartments and the rest of it. Then I'll usually take at least 10 days and disappear. Give my family a reward, some time that they deserve, but you never stop working. Any day you're not recruiting, you're a day behind someone else. You have to be on it 24-7. I wish I had no time (to recruit). That means you're still playing. I didn't start recruiting until July, early August (last year).

(On what goes into rebuilding the roster:) If you can't play defense, you can't play here, period. If we can get six Bud Holloways here next year, we'll take it. He's a pretty dynamic player. If we can get six guys as good as Bud, we're going to be a pretty good team. Not at the expense of giving up defnese. You look at our team and you look at Bakersfield -- they were really high octane. Once they got roling in the second half, all offense. Not that they didn't preach defense, but they relied on transition and scoring more than the opposition and it worked really well for them. So for us, we're not going to be that team. That's not how I coach. That doesn't make it wrong; it's just not how I coach.

(On recruiting:) In Reading we had Rich Peverley there a couple months my first year. I used him for about two years. He's in the National Hockey League now. He's a guy I used to call recruits. They're all tricks that you use to try and convince players that this is a good place to play -- and it is, so there's no tricking. It's just letting them know and getting the word out.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In case you missed it, check out my season recap in today's editions of the Daily Bulletin and Sun.

Also, expect defenseman P.J. Atherton to be back in Grand Rapids in time for the Griffins' AHL playoff game tomorrow in Ontario (the Canadian Ontario).

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kings goaltending consultant Bill Ranford was at Game 6 of the Reign-Thunder series Tuesday, along with Terry Murray, Dean Lombardi, Ron Hextall and Luc Robitaille. It was the first game for Murray and Lombardi, the second for Hextall and Robitaille, and the last of several this season for Ranford, who's been keeping a close eye on Kings goaltending prospects Jeff Zatkoff and Linden Rowat.

Zatkoff had more downs than ups in the second half of the season, going 8-9-2 from February onward after coming back from his second groin injury of the season.

"I think when you look at the overall year (Zatkoff) had, the first half he was much stronger," Ranford said. "The injury really hurt him a little bit, leading down to the stretch run."

But at least Zatkoff got to play. It's tempting to believe that Rowat, who only appeared in two games for the Reign and can only return to juniors as an overage player, should be even more concerned that he didn't get to showcase his full potential. But Ranford said that's not the case.

"The nicest thing for me is that Karl (Taylor) is in constant communication with me," Ranford said. "Every practice is (Rowat's) game."

As far as the Kings' ability to accurately evaluate him, it didn't hurt that Rowat's season with the WHL's Regina Pats fell short of the postseason. The Pats were humming along in playoff contention before they lost Team Canada members Jordan Eberle and Colten Teubert to the World Juniors Tournament. The remaining Pats club lost six straight and could never regain its confidence even after Eberle and Teubert returned in January.

If anything, the short season may have helped Rowat somewhat; Ranford said that "it's hard to evaluate (a goalie) when the team's confidence around him goes south. Nobody would have fathomed the three-month collpase."

And what did Taylor tell Ranford about Rowat?

"The first few weeks (Rowat) was in awe, a little excited just to be here," Ranford said. "Now he's more focused in practice."

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Thoughts in the moment:
Now what? Now what, really. You don't really think about these moments, what's next after this. It's a tough way to end the season. They played well, I think we responded real well. We missed some breaks tonight. Obviously took some tough ones under the chin.

On the number of bad bounces:
You see bad bounces, you just don't see 'em so repetitively. But that's why you play the game. Good bounces, bad bounces, you're going to have your night, you're not going to have your night. We came up short, but it wasn't for lack of effort that's for sure.

On Geoff Walker's first-period goal getting called back:
It would have been a big goal for us. It would have been a momentum changer. They were pushing hard, pushing hard. Chad (Starling) made a good pass to (Geoff) Walker there, he went in, he scored. I saw the ref's hand go up right away. I knew what was going on.

On the season ending:
The guys played their asses off tonight. All season. This is a tough way to end it, that's for sure. Especially the character that's in that locker room. Every single one of those guys, you would stand and take a bullet for, and they would take a bullet for you. Best team I've been on, for sure.

On third-period comeback:
I don't think that surprised too many people. We expected to come back at some point. It was just too little, too late.

What makes this the best team you've ever been on?
I don't know about talent wise, but I'd say heart and character and quality of people in that locker room, everybody cares so much and everybody's so proud of each other, there isn't a selfish guy in there. Each guy would probably take a bullet for everyone else in there. It's tough to walk away from.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Thoughts in the moment:
Obviously a large amount of disappointment. After the year we had, we looked forward to playing in the playoffs a long time. We had given ourselves a chance to be contenders.

What happened in the final seconds when you raised your arms?
To me it looked like the puck went in the net. Obviously it didn't go in the net. I didn't think I scored; I thought somebody shot it in from the left side. It just grazed up on the outside of the mesh and laid there. I thought we banged it in late, but it didn't happen. It was complete chaos out there. We battled hard to the end, and that's all you can ask for.

On how Geoff Walker's goal being called back affected the game:
Anytime you get a goal called back, which clearly in our eyes should have been (a goal), it's disappointing. But then maybe that got to us a little bit and that's disappointing on our shoulders. We've got to think about that. We kind of let up for 10 minutes of the game, and that possibly could have cost us the series.

On the third-period comeback:
It's 4-1 going into the third period, and you know you've got to go. We've done it before, pushed late, played hard until the end a couple of nights. We'll try to get it done again, just came up a little bit short.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thoughts on the series:
You saw it go all the way down right to Game 7. You'd think a 4-1 lead -- no lead was safe in the series. It shows that both teams were focused. The desire level was probably like it was a championship series. I think both teams, really, if you look back at it, didn't play great defensively, because I don't think you can give up as many goals as we gave up in the series to each team, but I also think both teams -- Kraus' goal is one of the prettiest goals. They scored the goal last night, I forget which it was, but there were some pretty goals. For a young team too, with the amount of young guys up front, they're a talented group. That's a really good team we just beat. At the end of the day, I think we might have got the lucky bounces. And that ends up being the difference.

Did you see interference on Geoff Walker's goal that was called back?
I didn't see it originally. On the replay, there's definitely contact. Our guy is trying to get back into the play, gets knocked down. I don't really. (The interference) wasn't what sprung them (to score the goal). The new standard is, any interference -- impeding is the word -- impede any player's forward progress, and you're subject to a penalty. I think at the end of the day that is the new standard.

Did you hear a whistle prior to the goal being scored?
I thought I heard the whistle. There was a few times in there that I didn't hear whistles, but I looked over, and I think the whistles were blown. It went that way. Without looking at the video, I can't comment.

Looking forward to playing Las Vegas?
I'm just looking forward to still playing. I think we're the lucky ones. That's it. We just had a little more luck on our side. Any time you can beat a team that's that good a team, you have to have luck on your side. We got some bounces early in the game that ended up being the difference, obviously.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thoughts in the moment:
We're very disappointed. We got a great team, and we're real competitive. Lots of heart and soul, and we never quit. I don't know if we could have gotten another bad bounce today. We lost because we lost -- all the credit to Stockton, 100 percent, they came into our rink and won Game 7 -- but I thought the officials struggled the whole game. The goal is a goal. I've never seen that call in my life. (The referee) is really involved in the first period, then he puts (his whistle) away in the second. I'm very disappointed with that stuff. But we lost because we lost. I'm not blaming the ref for us losing. We didn't respond. When we got that goal disallowed, it really crushed our team. We didn't respond well enough to that situation, and you don't have time for that. We fought like crazy. We do it every time. Our team battles to the end. Always. Always. So it's pretty disappointing.

DId you see interference?
No. There's no interference on that play. There was nothing. Our guy had the puck, there's no whistle, we score, he calls the call. What are you going to do? The ref calls it the way he sees it. You're not going to get the calls all the time, that's the way it goes. I'm really disappointed at the whole officiating crew, but that's the game. That's hockey. Sometimes you don't get the calls. They dump a puck in on the power play, it hits the stance, comes down, the guy scores. Our D's going for the rim. The bounces were against us, and we lost because we weren't good enough today. I'm not passing the buck here. It's our fault. I want to make sure I'm really clear here. It's my fault. Our team's fault. But there's a lot of things that went against us. It was really disappointing.

Were your players ready to start the game?
We were ready. We were all excited to go. We were nervous, but I don't think we were soft at all. My team is one of the hardest teams I've ever coached in my life.
We had a little lull.

On Stockton's three first period goals in 2:32:
We scored the goal, came back and scored, but we were still focusing on the one we didn't have. And so our team reacted poorly to that. It really affected us. We got down, and I was hoping -- I almost called a timeout, decided not to -- and they had some energy and scored.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In general, the postgame comments from both sides pointed toward the number of calls at critical moments that favored Stockton. Specifically, the first-period whistle that negated Geoff Walker's goal, which Karl Taylor said his team was still thinking about as Stockton built a 4-1 lead late in the first period.

But there were a mountain of postgame comments, a variety of opinions and emotions and tangents to go off on about the conclusion to the Reign's inaugural season. For now I'll leave you with the key points from the third period that won't make it into tomorrow's editions. Check back with this blog if you're still in the mood for said tangents tomorrow.

(And oh, by the way, Las Vegas successfully closed out its first-round series on home ice against Bakersfield, and will play the Thunder in the second round.)

You could say the Reign owned the third period, outshooting Stockton 18-7 and outscoring them 3-1. But that might take something away from Parker Van Buskirk, the Stockton goalie who got the game's first star and probably should have been scored upon in the final minute.

It all started when Jeff Zatkoff made it to the bench at about the time Jeff Pope announced there was one minute left in the third period. The Reign were engrossed in their first scrum at the mouth of the net, hacking and stabbing at the puck, which Van Buskirk refused to let past. He never got it covered up, however, the puck squirted out to the goalie's right, and Stockton pushed it up along the boards with a distinct chance at an empty-net goal.

David Walker made sure that wouldn't happen by beating Cory Urquhart to the puck as it angled behind a vacant Reign goal. After Walker got the puck into the Reign zone, it never left. They had probably 10 scoring chances in the final 20 seconds. The most obvious was a Grade-A look by in the left circle for Bud Holloway -- momentarily the ECHL's leading playoff scorer (14 points), for whatever that's worth -- but he fanned on the shot and it trickled weakly off to the side of the net.

That merely gave the Reign a chance to dump it into the crease where, by the 0:10 mark, everyone seemed to be hacking and stuffing the puck toward Van Buskirk.

It was easy to forget in the moment that this guy was here only because Andrew Perugini got injured midway through Game 1 in this same building -- which, at the time, seemed like an awful break for Stockton. Regular backup Bryan Pitton didn't do well in Games 2 and 3 (his GAA was north of 5.00) before emergency backup Van Buskirk made his third professional start ever in Game 4, and responded with his first pro win. It was a desperate move at the time, and it worked beyond Matt Thomas' wildest dreams.

Getting back into the moment ... it was hard to tell exactly how many shots the Reign put on net in those final seconds. All we could tell from the press box is that one of them got close enough to the goal line that Brad Mehalko raised his hands, thinking it went in, while another was close enough that the man in stripes standing over the net deliberately and frantically waved the "no goal" signal. Mehalko said afterward that he thought someone else had scored but, no, when the whistle finally blew on the play, it was because someone thought Mehalko was guilty of cross-checking. A lousy place to watch your season end from, the penalty box, but all too appropriate in this game.

The clock was rolled back to 4.0 seconds, the faceoff came all the way back into the Reign zone, Zatkoff stayed on the bench with the teams now skating 5-on-5, the Thunder controlled the faceoff and that was it. Game over. The Reign lingered in their own zone, some choosing to embrace, while the Stockton bench emptied to congratulate Van Buskirk on the opposite end of the ice. This drew about as many boos as a crowd of 3,466 can muster.

Eventually two lines formed on opposite ends of the rink for the traditional postgame handshake, with each head coach at the back of the line. This was conducted peaceably. Like they have done after each win but have never done after a loss, the Reign circled up at center ice and raised their sticks to the crowd. The boos turned to cheers. The Reign's inaugural season was over.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

And that's how the season ends. More to come. The official scoresheet is here.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 9:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Needing a big period to climb back in the game, the Reign ... put a paltry seven shots on goal and didn't score.

Stockton went into a more defensive mode and the Reign labored to get the puck out of their own zone. On the few occasions they did, some good scoring chances emerged.

During a late power play, David Walker was on the left side of an odd-man rush, got a late pass from Tim Kraus, had a grade-A opportunity with Parker Van Buskirk out of position, and missed the net high. On another 3-on-2 charge, Brad Mehalko's pass missed the outstreched stick of Todd Jackson by maybe an inch, and the play died before it even started.

The Reign survived two Thunder power plays, but they need to do more to save their season at this point. Now they need to gain a sense of urgency in a hurry.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Reign could probably sum it up in one word: Ugh.

The biggest surprise as the game started was the absence of Colten Teubert, who sustained an upper-body injury in Game 6 last night. Darren McMillan shifted over to partner with Chad Starling and Dan Knapp, appearing in his second game of the series, was paired with David Walker.

Stockton started the game with the most energy, but through the first 8:32 had only one shot off the crossbar, and another off the post, to show for it. Then, holding a man advantage, Robbie Bina used his speed to gain the line, then one-timed it past Jeff Zatkoff from the left circle.

The Reign thought they had the equalizer when Geoff Walker's snapshot beat Parker Van Buskirk at 10:28, but it was waved off and Bud Holloway was ruled to have interfered prior to the shot (Then why didn't the refs blow the play dead earlier? That was probably the question floating through a half-empty arena.)

If nothing else, the sequence energized the Reign, who dominated 4-on-5 play then got a goal from Andrew Martens at 13:05 to make it 1-1.

Where their momentum went at that point is anyone's guess. Zatkoff got deked out of position by a charging Cory Urquhart for a goal at 14:31. Then Igor Gongalsky whipped one through from long range at 15:28. Then James Bates scored a very similar goal to Gongalsky's on the power play at 18:46. Suddenly it was 4-1, the crowd was booing, and the second period couldn't begin soon enough.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 7:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On first two periods:
I though we did a good job defensively the first two periods. They had probably 20 (actually 19) shots, but I don't think any of them were too difficult. I thought they made a stronger push in the third. Give 'em credit, they played well. We don't want to lose, they don't want to lose. They battled back and made a game out of it.

On playing with a lead:
Ask any goalie, it settles you down and makes it easier to play with a lead, protecting something, than it is from behind. It's a little relief for you.

On stepping up in Game 6:
It's an elimination game, it brings out the best in people. I didn't want my season to be over with, and I don't think any of the guys in the locker room wanted it to be over. A big part of it was the way you saw our team played. We did really good the first two periods. We stuck together even though they got those goals in the third period, we stuck together and we regrouped. We shut em down those last four minutes and came out with the win. At this point of the year, it doesn't matter if you win 5-0 or 4-3. Both the same.

On playing back-to-back games at this point in the season:
I should be fine. If you look at the way the series is set up, we play Friday, Saturday, then we had Sunday and Monday off, played again Wednesday. There's been a ton of time to rest. We played four in fives throughout the season, so in a back to back I should be fine.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the mentality coming into Game 7:
I was actually thinking about it by the pool before we played yesterday that we don't want to leave here. We love it here too much. When you have that desperation feeling -- we knew if we could get through today and get another game today, anything could happen. I don't want to go back to New Hampshire. It would be cold, rainy.

On scoring first four goals:
Definitely one of our priorities was getting the first one. We've definitely had to play from behind in the games we've lost. We knew that that was key. We just have to keep rolling. When you have that feeling that you could go home, you just dig deep and make your stand.

On his two goals:
The first one, I just kind of got open in front of the net. (Andrew) Martens gave me a great pass, I just stuffed it in there. He gave me a little bit of room -- the goalie just left his pad, left a little room on the post and I put in there. The second one, (Chad Starling) dumped it in the corner. I came in and just drove it to the net. Coach talks about taking pucks to the net. Anything can happen when there's a scrum in front. I ended up getting my own rebound, finishing it. Definitely both hard-work goals.

Have you figured out how to fluster the Stockton goalie, Parker Van Buskirk?We got the first one, and that always makes him think. The goalie's young and just came out of juniors. We know we can get into his mind a little bit. He's not a well-seasoned veteran goalie or anything. He's new and he's nervous and he hasn't been with this team very long. We know that if we can get on him and get the shots on, we'll end up winning games.

How hard is it to maintain win-or-go-home mentality again today?
It's not hard at all. We're going into Game 7 this week, I don't think there's a person on this team that won't be ready for tomorrow's game. They're going to be ready too. It's going to be one hell of a game, just like tonight. When both teams are up against their backs up against the wall, one team's going home tomorrow night. It's a big, big game. Now I see that we have even more of a chance of staying, so I've got to be on tomorrow.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Best game of the season?
Take away the last 15 minutes of the third period, but they pushed hard. We came back on them a couple times, and they wanted to try to eliminate us today. We're able to live for another day. Tomorrow's Game 7, we hope to get the same result but we'll wait and see what occurs.

What needs to improve?
We just got to be smarter in the (defensive) zone. They take the walls away and they forecheck hard. The first two periods, we were able to bump it through the middle and it's one of those things -- the momentum, and the feeling -- we gave them momentum from some of our plays where they were coming down the walls and creating looks that we don't need to give back. We just need to be a bit more puck-savvy when we have possession.

Importance of scoring first?
I think it was important for Jeff to have two periods where he shut them out and played very well. We'll watch the second one, where it goes over his head and into the net; what are you going to do, it's one of those weird bounces. I'll see, I'll watch the video there. We gave up the line on the third (goal). We've got to be stronger there defensively. We just got to tighten up a little bit and as a team holding the line and taking away their offensive off the rush.

Jeff looked quicker today; did you see fatigue the first 5 games?
No, he's not tired. We had a day off between every game. He's fresh as a daisy and dying to play tomorrow. He looked fresh off the puck, he responded. He's not happy with the way he's played throughout the whole series. He's been decent but he's not happy with how it's gone, and he showed a lot of grit and character today to step up and play a heck of a game for his teammates.

On playing Andrew Martens at forward 5-on-5:
We're trying to find someone with Franny and Rheaultsy for a long time here. Marty's got a lot of speed and he likes to hit guys, because he's played D before and he knows it's not fun when you go back there. I thought he added a lot of speed and grit for us. He got tired as the game went on because he forgot how hard it was to skate all the time as a forward.

On Darren McMillan returning to the lineup:
I thought he played really well and really smart. He was really smart with the puck. Stockton does a really good job getting pucks behind the net, getting our feet turned then coming behind us. He's able to shoulder-check and make the solid play.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It ain't over yet.

The Reign scored the first four goals, then had to hold on as Stockton tried in vain to tie the game with three goals in the third period. Sort of reminiscent of Game 2, with the teams' roles reversed. Your official scoresheet is here.

Also, it looks like Las Vegas tied up its series with Bakersfield with a 3-1 win. The other Pacific Division semifinal will be decided tomorrow night in Las Vegas; game time is 7:30 p.m.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 9:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Stockton Thunder will take the ice without two of their better players in Game 6 at Citizens Business Bank Arena tonight.

From the Stockton Record web site:

Stockton will try to clinch its first-round playoff series without two-thirds of its on-ice leadership team.

Captain Matt O'Dette and alternate captain Mike Lalonde both suffered injuries in Sunday's Game 5 victory over Ontario in the first-round ECHL playoff series. Neither will be on the active roster when the Thunder visits the Reign and 7 p.m. today at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. The Thunder leads the series 3-2.

Stockton coach Matt Thomas would not go into details about the injuries other than to say that O'Dette, a defenseman, suffered a lower body injury with about six minutes left in the third period. Lalonde, a forward, left the ice in the first period with a upper body ailment. Both are on the three-day injury reserve and would be out if there is a Game 7 on Wednesday.

"It hurts when you lose two veteran players like that. They really help us," Thomas said. "But this just means other people have to step in."

The Thunder has players available at both positions. Sebastien Bisaillon and Tyler Kindle are the defenseman and Adam Huxley and Brandon Naurato are the forwards who could be added to the active roster.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From Herbert Atienza at Loma Linda Children's Hospital:

Legends of the National Hockey League (NHL) will face off on the ice this week with local amateurs in a friendly game of hockey to raise money for Loma Linda University Children's Hospital.

Scheduled to play are alumni from the Los Angeles Kings, including: Luc Robitaille, Daryl Evans, Mark Hardy, Jim Fox, Nelson Emerson, and more. A total of eight amateur teams are competing in a charity tournament from April 23 to 26, with the winning team playing against the NHL alumni team at 7:15 p.m., Sunday, April 26, at Ice Town, 10540 Magnolia Ave. Suite A, Riverside.

Already, $15,500 has been raised for the Children's Hospital from a previous auction of autographed jerseys at a recent Ontario Reign hockey game and from fundraising for the charity tournament. A check presentation to Children's Hospital officials is scheduled before the start of the charity game. The public may watch the match-up between the amateurs and the former pros. Tickets cost $5 each, with gate proceeds benefiting the Children's Hospital and the Los Angeles Kings non-profit organization.

"We are very grateful to Ice Town for their tremendous support," said Tiffany Hoekstra, coordinator of the Champions Program of the Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Foundation. "The funds will go a long way in helping provide healing for thousands of California's youth who will experience a serious illness or injury during the coming year."

Matt Dunaev, general manager and hockey director of Ice Town, said he was overwhelmed by the response to the charity tournament, including the support from the NHL alumni. "We thought it would be a great event," he said. "It's something fun for the adults and would benefit a great cause."

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 3:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Thunder are suddenly making some noise, up 3 games to 2 in the series, which shifts back to Ontario on Tuesday.

The Reign fell behind 2-0 tonight and never caught up; the first team to score has won all four games of the series. The official scoresheet is here.

More in tomorrow's editions.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 6:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Andrew Martens, who has spent all of April with the AHL's Toronto Marlies, is in the lineup for the Reign tonight for Game 5 of their first-round playoff series with Stockton.

Martens was released yesterday from his pro tryout agreement by Toronto after 18 games, including two in the Calder Cup playoffs. During the regular season he was the Reign's fifth-leading scorer, and the leading scorer among defensemen, with 31 points (7 goals, 24 assists) despite playing just 48 of the team's 73 games.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Talk about a rollercoaster game.

The Reign gave up the first goal, climbed back up 2-1, got behind 3-2, then 4-2, then scored twice in the final two minutes -- with P.J. Atherton in the penalty box -- to send it to overtime.

But the puck never seemed to leave the Reign zone in OT and, 24 seconds after one Stockton goal was waved off, James Bates one-timed a shot past Jeff Zatkoff to win it, 5-4.

Asked if they need to do anything differently going forward, Atherton said "we've got to keep an even keel and stick to the system that got us here."

Your official scoresheet is here; more details in tomorrow's editions.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Reign looked dead in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series Friday night, before goals by Jon Rheault and Bud Holloway in the final two minutes of the third period -- the first short-handed and the second with Jeff Zatkoff on the bench to make it 5-on-5 -- tied the game at 4 to send it to overtime.

More to come.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nursing a 2-1 lead going into the third period, the Reign break it open with three goals (including two on the power play), and a fight.

They lead the series 2-1 going into Friday's game 4 in Stockton. Your official scoresheet is here.

I wasn't at this one, but here's the link to a fine story from correspondent Kevin Niendorf. More details from coach Taylor as we get 'em.

Update: Check out the main game story, and a sidebar, from this morning's Stockton record.

What's noteworthy is that, for as good as the Reign played, it seems the Thunder played equally bad. "Nobody showed up," head coach Matt Thomas said. Also, no update is given on the status of the Thunder's No. 1 goalie, Andrew Perugini. No news is probably good news for the Reign.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

-- On paper, the Reign outshot the Thunder 14-2 in the final period. They looked just as good in real life. Of course, that means they were outshot 21-15 over the first two frames, which doesn't even take into account the defensive lapses that allowed Stockton to go up 4-1.

-- Karl Taylor said he had no thoughts of pulling Jeff Zatkoff, who sprinkled in more than enough tough saves among his 17 on the evening to validate that decision.

-- Darren McMillan was back in the lineup and Dan Knapp, who had a nice assist Friday night on Jon Rheault's breakaway goal, was scratched.

-- Bud Holloway's hat trick brought a cavalcade of hats to the ice, as well as one shoe and a T-shirt. It's only my opinion, but when something other than a hat hits the ice, it's more embarrassing than amusing.

-- Colten Teubert got into his first fight of the playoffs. After getting under their skin plenty the night before, Teubert was seen jawing with Stockton during the first period (and even during warmups). But he waited until the third period to dance with Craig Valette. The 6-1 Valette landed a few small punches before the 6-4 Teubert landed on top of Valette when they fell to the ice, which couldn't have felt good, but I'm sure hockeyfights.com will declare Valette the winner.

The game finished perilously close to deadline, so here are the condensed quotes I was able to get from the Reign:

Karl Taylor:

We weren't prepared to play. We thought it was going to be easy. That's my responsibility as a coach. I take full blame for the first two periods -- I didn't have the guys prepared.

Bud Holloway:

We didn't draw that up, but we said we're not going to quit out there. We didn't want to give up the four-goal lead. We came off our game plan a little bit. We just got out of the gate a bit slow.

On where to go from here:
You've just got to wipe the slate clean. It's a best-of-five series now.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The Reign mounted a furious comeback -- four goals in the third period -- but it was not to be.

More to come; your official scoresheet is here.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Cleve Dheensaw of the Victoria Times-Colonist felt so bold as to handicap the entire National Conference playoffs, series-by-series. His analysis of the Reign-Thunder matchup:

With Los Angeles Kings first-round draft-pick Colten Teubert and third-rounders Bud Holloway and Jeff Zatkoff, the Ontario Reign has some fine young talent to showcase. So does the Stockton Thunder, which is bulging with Edmonton prospects. But Ontario plays a stifling, defensive style which is perfect for the playoffs. Stockton has been too erratic a team to have any edge in this series.

Prediction: Ontario in five

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When's the last time I scored two goals in a game, period? Maybe beginner novice. Way back. I can't remember the last time I scored two goals, not in juniors. I honestly can't remember. It's a huge team win. I'm proud of the guys, coming out of the gate. We had some horses back there in Tebuert and Starling, and Zatkoff kicked well back there for us.

On Atherton's presence:
Any time you get a P.J. Atherton back in the lineup, he's going to get shots on net and get them hard. To have a big bomber on the point it adds a lot. You know most of the time, he's going to get it through. He's a power play guy for sure.

On scuffle after horn:
Anytime you get into a seven-game series, it doesn't matter. There's going to be bad blood.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When did you arrive here?
Three days ago.

Was there an adjustment period?
I had kind of a tough time in the first period, kind of a feeling-out process, trying to anticipate where people are going to be before you get the puck. I had to settle into it. Luckily Shawn (Germain) was real good behind me when I made a couple mistakes, but I settled in pretty good as the game went on I started to feel real good. Started to play like myself again.

Did you feel pressure to contribute?
I'm one player. I'm not going to change the world here in Ontario. I think you feel as much pressure as you're going to put on yourself, to help the guys win. Power play's something I enjoy. I want to be on the power play every single power play we have. I don't feel pressure; I have fun. It's a great time of the year, a great group of guys, so I'm just here to have a good time and contribute any way I can to help these guys win hockey games.

On possible bad blood in the series:
They have some guys who like to mix it up a little bit. We want to get wins, that's the important thing. Everything that happens after the whistle doesn't really matter. Guys are going to do things that other guys don't like. You're not going to like things the other team's doing. That's hockey. That's the way it goes. That's part of the fun, trying to get under other guys' skin.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On stepping into the atmosphere:
I had butterflies coming in, but I thought we played well as a team, and our defensive game was good. Just got to stay out of the box a bit. Our power play was great tonight.

On your role:
I just want to be there for the guys, and be that defensive guy on the back end who stays solid the whole game.

On ECHL experience:
I just got to take it like an opportunity. Sadly my season was cut short with my WHL team, but this is another opportunity to show my stuff. I hate losing, so I want to keep winning. As long as we can go on this run, I'll be happy.

You think the Kings' front office is watching you?
I think so, for sure. I think everybody's being watched no matter who you are, you've got somebody watching you.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On special teams play:
There's no question that it's been hurting us as far as scoring goals. I think we were 1-for-30. Getting the guys back, getting P.J. back helped as far as getting us more of a threat. You have to have good specialty teams. I thought we were outstanding on the penalty kill [5-for-6] and decent on the power play [2-for-7].

On Stockton coming back:
In the middle of the second period ... every team wants to win, every team's got a lot of will and they're trying hard. There's going to be times when the other team pushes back, and how we handle that as a team has to be better than we did today. We're going to watch that little five-minute segment when they pushed back and got that goal. We got away from our game. the key thing is to simplify at that moment and not allow big plays to happen.

On Colten Teubert's 1st-period hip check on Robby Bina:
Colten, that's what he does. He's got to be a big physical guy, take the body when he can, and be a great defender. That's what he takes pride in. I thought he played very well tonight, and he was a force on the back end for us. Him and Chad (Starling) both shut down their number one line tonight [Mike Lalonde, Ryan Huddy, James Bates]. (Cory) Urquhart came alive and hurt us, but we were able to keep Huddy off the scoresheet for the most part.

Every game you're going to readjust, guaranteed. For us and for them. You always keep your core the same, your values the same, but you're going to make tactical changes game to game.

I think that hurts them initially, because they're disappointed. (Andrew Perugini) has been their guy the last little run here. That's been their number one. It doesn't mean that the other guy is not a good goalie, it just means that when that happens your team takes a shot to their confidence. We were fortunate that we snuck one by him [on Atherton's goal] that he'd like to have back. So it's a situation where their team probably settled a little back, and they competed even harder to protect him, to give him a chance to get his feet under him. You never like to see guys injured, but it's part of the game.

On Stockton regaining momentum:
They did a good job generating shots and getting pucks to the net. That gave us a little bit of a step back, because their team pushed hard through that power play to get that energy. It kind of took the early energy away from us. Fortunately Jeff (Zatkoff) was really good through that sequence, and our kill was able to hold the fort, and let our team recover.

On Zatkoff:
He was able to control his rebounds for the most part, and hold them to the outside. It's his job to stop the puck.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Reign finished 1-for-30 on the power play over the regular season's final five games, but ended that bad streak with a flourish, going 2-for-7. P.J. Atherton's third-period goal was basically a power-play goal too. It fell five seconds after a minor penalty to Daryl Marcoux had ended, the puck stayed in the offensive zone, and Marcoux was scarcely entering the play (which was on the opposite end of the ice) when Atherton shot and scored.

• Atherton finished with a goal, an assist, was plus-1 and put five shots on Stockton's goalies. Germain took two shots, both went in, and he finished plus-1. Jon Rheault had a goal and an assist, and Todd Jackson, Geoff Walker, Bud Holloway, Dan Knapp and David Walker had one assist apiece.

• Darren McMillan, one of three players (along with Kraus and Starling) to play all 73 regular-season games for the Reign, was a pregame scratch.

• The biggest applause of the night might have gone to Chris Curran, who was shelved for the duration of the playoffs in the Reign's regular-season finale. He took in the game from the upper level, in crutches, and received a warm third-period ovation.

• Not so warm: A 5-on-5 scuffle as the final horn sounded that wasn't precipitated by any specific play, just a hard-fought game. No penalties were awarded, but they could have.

• Colten Teubert and Denny Johnston, both of whom delivered a number of hard checks throughout the game, seemed to agitate Stockton the most (which is their job). Teubert, who stands 6-foot-4, threw a punishing hip check at 5-foot-8 blueliner Robby Bina late in the first period right in front of the Thunder bench that brought the partisan crowd to its feet.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shawn Germain surprised everyone (even himself) with two goals, P.J. Atherton scored in his return to the Reign, and Jon Rheault added another as the Reign pulled out Game 1.

Official scoresheet here; quotes and more details to follow.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let's make it official...

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

1. The game is far from sold out. Executive VP of business operations Justin Kemp said yesterday that he expects "about 4,000."

2. Stockton Record beat writer Scott Linesburgh breaks down the series position-by-position, then predicts the Thunder will win in seven games.

3. Wearing a Fresno Falcons undershirt after today's morning skate, Thunder coach Matt Thomas said that the Reign's PP will be the biggest challenge for his defense. Even without Andrew Martens. "Systematically, they have what they like. I don't think it's going to be 1,000 different trick plays. They've got some good concepts to it, they move the puck well on it. The strength is in the simplicity."

1:54 p.m. update: Todd Jackson and Brad Mehalko were taken off IR today, and the two forwards will be on the active roster for tonight's game. Doug Spooner was placed on 3-day IR, and as expected, defenseman P.J. Atherton was added to the active roster.

Martens is still with the Toronto Marlies, and goaltender Kellen Briggs with the Portland Pirates, both of the AHL.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...not Jeff Zatkoff. Sorry, Reign fans.

Alaska's Jean-Phillippe Lamoureux (abbreviated in the press box simply as JPL) led the league in wins, save percentage and shutouts, making him a slightly more natural chioice for the honor. He went 5-1 with one shutout against the Reign this year.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 8:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Stockton Thunder, the Reign's first-round playoff opponent, held its media day today. A podcast of the interviews are available here. There's some good insight into a few nuances of the matchup, as well as these highlights:

-- Defenseman Cleve Kinley likes playing in Ontario because "the weather's nice, they've got a nice rink, the hotel's nice, and it's a little bit easier to get up for a road game when the amenities are nicer."

-- Asked about the comparison between Colten Teubert and a "young, raw Chris Pronger," coach Matt Thomas said "I think they've got a big, old Chris Pronger in Chad Starling."

For an accurate, if not especially thorough, breakdown of the matchup, check out this release put out today by the ECHL.

Also today, defenseman Robby Bina joined Kinley and forward Cory Urquhart as players sent from the AHL's Springfield Falcons to the Thunder this week.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Good news for the Reign coming from the AHL transaction wire: Defenseman P.J. Atherton was returned on loan from the Grand Rapids Griffins. Atherton wasn't at practice Tuesday but, if he returns, would give the Reign a much-needed presence on the power play. The Reign are enduring a 1-for-30 drought with the man advantage. More about this in tomorrow's editions.

Not-as-good news for Reign fans: Stockton defenseman Cleve Kinley and forward Cory Urquhart have also been returned from the AHL in time for Friday's first-round game between the Reign and the Thunder. Kinley and Urquhart were among the team's leading scorers in the regular season.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 7:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reign left wing Chris Curran is recovering at home from his injury sustained in Bakersfield, the team reports.

"I really appreciate all the support and concerned messages from the fans," said Curran, who is recovering at home with his family. "I am looking forward to getting back on the ice with the team."

Fans can send messages to:

Chris Curran
C/O Ontario Reign Professional Hockey
3633 Inland Empire Blvd. Suite #130
Ontario, CA 91764

Or by email to: players@ontarioreign.com

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Kelly Cup playoff rosters for each team are out.

As for the Reign ...

Forward Doug Spooner, who posted one goal and four penalty minutes in seven games on an amateur tryout contract last month, has signed a contract. Chris Curran was placed on 30-day IR as expected, Ryan MacGregor was moved from 3-day IR to 7-day IR, and Todd Jackson and Brad Mehalko were placed on 3-day IR.

Dusty Collins, who signed with the AHL's Manitoba Moose last month, was left off. Other than that, there's really no surprises on the complete list:

Tim Kraus, C; Jon Francisco, C; Chad Starling, D; Darren McMillan, D; David Walker, D; Shawn Germain, D; Dan Knapp, D; Colten Teubert, D; Geoff Walker, F; Mike Howe, F; Denny Johnston, F; Dale Reinhardt, F; Jon Rheault, F; Bud Holloway, F; Doug Spooner, F; Jeff Zatkoff, G; Linden Rowat, G; Todd Jackson, F (IR); Brad Mehalko, F (IR); Ryan MacGregor, F (IR); Kellen Briggs, G (AHL); PJ Atherton, D (AHL); Andrew Martens, D (AHL).

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 7:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The ECHL regular season wrapped up yesterday, a noteworthy day for many around the league, and just a plain bad day for Reign forward Chris Curran.

Kevin Baker of the Florida Everblades won the regular-season scoring title with 102 points. The Reign's leading scorer? A three-way tie between Jon Francisco, Geoff Walker and Tim Kraus at 48 points -- the lowest total points for any team leader in the league. It speaks to the Reign's balance and their remarkable ability to win a majority of their games (38 of 73, to be precise) without scoring too much. In fact, they allowed 21 more goals than they scored (218-197), the only one of the four division winners who can boast such a stat.

The Reign also finished with the fewest penalty minutes (1232) of any Pacific Division team, and the third-fewest in the league overall. Their 197 goals scored make them the only team with fewer than 200.

ECHL comissioner Brian McKenna sat down with NHL.com for an interview this week, talked contraction and expansion and didn't say much about the Reign. Check it out here.

In the West Division, the first-place Alaska Aces will host a first-round series against the fourth-place Utah Grizzlies, while the second-place Idaho Steelheads will host the third-place Victoria Salmon Kings.

Also, remember Matt Climie? He's the goalie who shut out the Reign twice last week during a three-game road swing to Idaho. He was called up by the Dallas Stars prior to last night's game against the St. Louis Blues on an emergency basis after starter Marty Turco was injured. Climie won as the Stars beat the Blues, 5-4 in overtime, but it was a bittersweet mood in the clubhouse afterwards: The Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators both won, meaning the Stars were eliminated from the playoffs.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 6:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Geoff Walker scored in the shootout, Linden Rowat made 47 saves through 65 minutes and five more in overtime, and the Reign ended the regular season with a shootout victory in Bakersfield.

Your official scoresheet is here. More details in tomorrow's editions.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Reign forward Chris Curran left Rabobank Arena in a stretcher after an end-board collision 3:20 into tonight's game against the Bakersfield Condors.

Curran, who was playing just his second game since recovering from a broken finger, was in pursuit of a puck heading behind the Reign net with Bakersfield's Dave Bonk when he slipped onto the ice and collided into the end boards. Bonk, who walked away unharmed, immediately motioned to the bench, and Reign trainer Bobby Walls rushed out, then elevated Curran's legs. Curran seemed to be able to move his left leg, but his right remained motionless and was the likely source of his pain.

A stretcher was hailed from the tunnel for Curran and, after nearly 10 minutes, the Reign bench emptied to see their injured teammate off and a once-hostiile arena rose to its feet.

Curran was taken to a local hospital; more details as they become available.

8:57 p.m. update: According to a cameraman for local television station KERO who captured the collision on video, Curran's right femur hit the wall first and was bent at an awkward "L-shaped" position when he bounced off. This is a serious injury, one which will sideline one of the Reign's best defensive forwards for the Kelly Cup playoffs.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 8:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The Reign's overtime performance summed it all up: Great one second, fooled the next.

Seven seconds after killing a 4-on-3 Bakersfield power play -- allowing only one shot to reach Jeff Zatkoff -- they left Donny Grover all alone in the right faceoff circle, and the Condors forward sent the 7,171 fans home happy (not including the Reign booster club who traveled north for the game. Good road showing).

Todd Jackson scored off a great breakaway pass from Jon Rheault with 7:04 left in the third period, ending a streak of 21 straight power plays without a goal for the Reign, to make it 3-2. But Bakersfield tied it at 3 when Mark Derlago put home a long rebound with 3:44 left in regulation.

The regular season ends tomorrow, and the Reign will learn their first-round opponent then. Stockton, which lost 4-0 to Las Vegas tonight, has the inside edge.

Your official scoresheet is here. More details in tomorrow's editions.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Condors went up 2-0 when defenseman Ryan Mahrle got loose in front of the net, then put his own rebound home at 1:36 of the period. After Jon Francisco went to the penalty box for interference at 15:32, the Reign could have been looking at a 3-0 deficit. Instead, they killed the penalty and Brad Mehalko made a pinpoint pass from the defensive zone as Francisco left the box.

All alone in the offensive zone, Franny proceeded to put a move on Yutaka Fukufuji, shifting from his forehand to backhand and beating the goalie five-hole at 17:40.

Bakersfield outshot the Reign 11-10 in the period, but Jeff Zatkoff was on his game (aside from Mahrle's goal, on which he had no help in front of the net).

More to come.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 8:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chris Curran, who had been practicing with the Reign all week in his recovery from a broken finger, is in the starting lineup tonight in Bakersfield.

Also, backup goaltender Linden Rowat, assigned to Ontario by the parent L.A. Kings organization, has signed a contract and is backing up Jeff Zatkoff tonight. Forward Doug Spooner was not tendered a contract and has been released.

Stay tuned for more blogs after each period.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

...and again the Reign were left out.

From ECHL.com:

F - Dave Bonk, Bakersfield Condors (58 gp, 31g, 50a, 81 pts, -3) F - Mark Derlago, Bakersfield Condors (47 gp, 31g, 42a, 73 pts, +6) F - Wes Goldie, Victoria Salmon Kings (72 gp, 48g, 18a, 66 pts, -7) D - Peter Metcalf, Florida Everblades (56 gp, 9g, 50a, 59 pts, +11) D - Matt Shasby, Alaska Aces (67 gp, 7g, 38a, 45 pts, +10) G - Gerald Coleman, Trenton Devils (42 gp, 27-9-3, 2.38 GAA, .916 Save Pct.) The ECHL will announce the Sportsmanship Award winner on Friday.

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We know by now that the Reign like to spread the fame around -- a different hero every night. Their statistics reflect this, and so it should come as no surprise that no member of the Reign was named to the ECHL all-rookie team today.

Here are the first-team selections, as determined by the ECHL coaches:

F - Bryan Ewing, Wheeling Nailers (64 gp, 43g, 47a, 90 pts, +2)
F - Jordan Morrison, Wheeling Nailers (60 gp, 24g, 47a, 71 pts, -1)
F - Matt Pope, Bakersfield Condors (54 gp, 30g, 33a, 63 pts, -4)
D - Elgin Reid, Wheeling Nailers (47 gp, 13g, 21a, 34 pts, +13)
D - Mitch Ganzak, Wheeling Nailers (61 gp, 7g, 32a, 39 pts, +15)
G - Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, Alaska Aces (50 gp, 32-16-2, 2.33 GAA, .922 Save Pct.)

Posted by J.P. Hoornstra at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)