Ontario Reign
Encyclopedia
The Ontario Reign is a ice hockey
team from Ontario, California
that play in the ECHL
. Their home arena is the Citizens Business Bank Arena. They are a minor league affiliate team of the Los Angeles Kings
of the National Hockey League
.
until that franchise, based in Beaumont, Texas
was unable to secure an arena lease and opted instead to move to Ontario. The official announcement of the franchise's relocation came on February 26, 2008.
The name is derived from an abstract noun
related to royalty
. Its name follows the pattern the Kings have established with the AHL affiliate the Manchester Monarchs
. The name was chosen from a contest held by the team's website, where over 600 entries were submitted. Mike Brewster of Fontana, California
submitted the winning entry.
The team's logo was unveiled on March 17, 2008.
balloting for ECHL Coach of the Year, losing to Trenton Titans
' head coach Rick Kowalsky.
The Reign had a total attendance of 210,801 at 36 home games. This was an average of 5,856 per game, making it second highest in the league.
The Reign had a total attendance of 232,223 at 36 home games. This was an average of 6,451 per game and was over 10% higher than the previous season. This was more than enough to capture the league attendance record for the season.
of the AHL
as an assistant coach. He leaves Ontario with a 96-99-22 record. On August 23, 2011, the Reign announced that Jason Christie
would succeed Taylor as head coach for the 2011-12 season. On August 24, 2011, the team announced that Christie would be joined behind the bench by former Los Angeles Kings
defenseman and assistant coach Mark Hardy.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team from Ontario, California
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...
that play in the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
. Their home arena is the Citizens Business Bank Arena. They are a minor league affiliate team of the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
.
Team History
The Reign franchise started as the Huntington Blizzard in 1993. After the 1999-2000 ECHL season, the Blizzard was relocated to Beaumont Texas and the team changed its name to the Texas Wildcatters. The team existed as the Texas WildcattersTexas Wildcatters
The Texas Wildcatters, who took their name from Texas wildcatters, were an ECHL team based in Beaumont, Texas. They played their home games at the Ford Arena. They were the affiliate of the Florida Panthers in 2004–2005. The team played in Huntington, West Virginia and were known as the Huntington...
until that franchise, based in Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
was unable to secure an arena lease and opted instead to move to Ontario. The official announcement of the franchise's relocation came on February 26, 2008.
The name is derived from an abstract noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
related to royalty
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
. Its name follows the pattern the Kings have established with the AHL affiliate the Manchester Monarchs
Manchester Monarchs
The Manchester Monarchs are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League . They play in Manchester, New Hampshire at the Verizon Wireless Arena. They have been the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings since 2001.-History:...
. The name was chosen from a contest held by the team's website, where over 600 entries were submitted. Mike Brewster of Fontana, California
Fontana, California
Fontana is a city of 196,069 residents in San Bernardino County, California. Founded in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area...
submitted the winning entry.
The team's logo was unveiled on March 17, 2008.
2008-2009 Season
During the 2008-2009 regular season, the Reign went 38-29-4-2 and captured the 2008-09 Pacific Division championship. However, their success was short lived as they lost in round one of the playoffs to the Stockton Thunder. Head Coach Karl Taylor finished second in the John Brophy AwardJohn Brophy Award
The John Brophy Award goes to the ECHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success as voted by the coaches of each of the ECHL teams. The John Brophy Award has been awarded to teams since 1989. The award is named after John Brophy, who had coached in the league for 13 seasons...
balloting for ECHL Coach of the Year, losing to Trenton Titans
Trenton Titans
The Trenton Titans are a professional minor league ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the Atlantic Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Titans play their home games at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, New Jersey. Established in 1999, the...
' head coach Rick Kowalsky.
The Reign had a total attendance of 210,801 at 36 home games. This was an average of 5,856 per game, making it second highest in the league.
2009-2010 Season
During the 2009-2010 regular season, the Reign went 31-31-3-7 and despite being a playoff contender until almost the last regular season game, they were unable to secure a playoff berth.The Reign had a total attendance of 232,223 at 36 home games. This was an average of 6,451 per game and was over 10% higher than the previous season. This was more than enough to capture the league attendance record for the season.
2010-2011 Season
During the 2010-2011 regular season, the Reign went a dismal 27-39-2-4, including losing their first 15 home games. The season was mared by numerous injuries, illinesses, trades and even a few players defecting to European hockey leagues. Despite their hopes for a late-season recovery, they were never a playoff contender and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Despite their poor season on the ice, the attendance at 36 home games was an amazing 240,596. This was an average of 6,683 per game and was over 3% higher than the previous season. This was more than enough to capture the league attendance record for the season, the second straight season the Reign have accomplished this. They were able to pull this off despite the poor on-ice performance by making each game a unique, fun family experience.2011-2012 Season
Head coach Karl Taylor, who had been with the franchise since its inaugural year in Ontario, signed with the Chicago WolvesChicago Wolves
The Chicago Wolves are a professional hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois...
of the AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
as an assistant coach. He leaves Ontario with a 96-99-22 record. On August 23, 2011, the Reign announced that Jason Christie
Jason Christie
Jason Christie is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the Ontario Reign of the ECHL.He was previously the head coach of the Bloomington PrairieThunder in the Central Hockey League ....
would succeed Taylor as head coach for the 2011-12 season. On August 24, 2011, the team announced that Christie would be joined behind the bench by former Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
defenseman and assistant coach Mark Hardy.