ONTARIO , Ca – The Ontario Reign of the ECHL began their first season wanting to play a blue collar type style of hockey that was Head Coach Karl Taylor’s calling card during his playing days.
Taylor prides himself on coaching teams that will not be outworked. After 13 games and a 7-4-1-1 record (16 points), the Reign have shown that outworking teams will be what sets them apart in the National Conference’s Pacific Division. Currently the Reign are in second place behind the Fresno Falcons, and third overall in the conference.
After beginning their season on the road for three games, Ontario opened up the new state of the art Citizens Business Bank Arena with a win over the National Conference Champion Las Vegas Wranglers and gave them all they could handle in a 4-1 victory.
Prior to the game, the Reign’s parent company, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, announced that they would be majority owners of the club. Los Angeles also announced that they would take over the hockey operations side of the business.
In essence, the Kings coaches and scouting department are taking a larger role in evaluating talent. The move gives LA fans a chance to watch the Kings future stars.
STRONG GOALTENDING:
Jeff Zatkoff (6-3-1 with a 2.28 goals against average) is in his rookie season in the ECHL after playing last season in college for Miami ( Ohio). If his first 10 games are any indication, Zatkoff has shown the poise to be the Reign’s number one goaltender. He is currently seventh in the league with his goals against average. Zatkoff is also second in wins with six and fourth in save percentage (.937).
Zatkoff’s 4-1 start earned him the CCM Vector ECHL Goaltender of the Month for October.
NO POWER OUTAGE:
Ontario has been very efficient on the power play, as they are currently leading the ECHL (24.4 percent). The Reign have converted on 21 of 86 man advantages during the season. Center Jon Francisco leads Ontario with five goals.
TOUGH TO BEAT WHEN SCORING FIRST:
The Reign have scored the first goal of the game six times in 13 games. They are unbeaten in regulation with four wins and two losses coming in overtime and shootout.
ROOKIE PRESCENCE:
Of the six top scorers on the team, four are rookies in the ECHL.
Right winger Geoff Walker is second in the team in points (12) and goals (4). He is tied for the team lead with eight assists. Walker is currently 10th in rookie scoring.
Center Tim Kraus is third on the team in points with 13. He is tied with Walker for the team lead in assists with eight and is currently 5th in rookie scoring.
Center Dusty Collins and right winger Jon Rheault are currently fifth and sixth on the team in points. Collins has eight points while Rheault has seven.
ROOKIE WATCH:
A hockey team usually goes as good as it’s goaltender, and Ontario has shown that they have a good one in Zatkoff. With Kings goaltending coach Bill Ranford just down the road in Los Angeles, it’s easy to see that the young goalie will get some valuable lessons. The only question is whether or not Zatkoff can withstand a 72 game schedule.
VETERAN WATCH:
Center Jon Francisco has proven to be a good leader for a young hard-working team. He leads the team in points (13), goals (7) and power play goals (5). He also is third on the team with six assists.
Ontario is proving to be a tough team to play against and Las Vegas can vouch for that as the Reign took two of three early in the season when the teams played on consecutive nights. After losing four of five games, the Reign have comeback to win three of their last four games.
Contact the author at andy.villanueva@prohockeynews.com
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