• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

MayorsManor.com

NHL blog, LA Kings hockey news and interviews from The Mayor

  • Radio Replay
  • Prospect Rankings
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / AHL / Reign Earn Opening Night Shutout – Notes and Bissonnette Interview

Reign Earn Opening Night Shutout – Notes and Bissonnette Interview

October 11, 2015 By John Hoven

Reign 2015-16 Opening Night AHLSaturday night in Bakersfield, years of planning finally came to fruition – the AHL was playing regular season games in California. The Kings top minor league affiliate, now the Ontario Reign, was set to begin defense of their 2014-15 Calder Cup Championship. Using a roster largely comprised of the same group who played in Manchester last year, the Reign defeated the host Bakersfield Condors 5-0 for their first victory of the new era.

Earlier in the day, Ontario added another netminder, veteran Ray Emery, to help them get through the next few weeks, as top goaltending prospect Patrick Bartosak remains sidelined following hand surgery.

Emery wasn’t needed in this one, though, as Peter Budaj made 21 saves and forward Kris Newbury’s two goals led the team’s Opening Night performance. Defenseman and Ontario Reign team captain Vincent LoVerde captured the first AHL goal in team history, assisted by Newbury and forward Adrian Kempe. Later, forward Scott Sabourin gave the Reign a two-goal advantage, converting a rebound off of a Jamie McBain shot. The Reign’s offensive attack concluded with an unassisted goal by Paul Bissonnette.

Postgame, the following report was filed with MayorsManor by Sebastian Noren of ESPN Bakersfield:

– Kempe: Played well on the forecheck, as did they whole team. He had three shots on net in the second period. Looked more and more confident as the game went on. Played on a line with Newbury and Backman. Had the second assist on LoVerde’s opening goal.

– Zykov: Didn’t stand out. Had a difficult time putting his mark on the game. Played on a line with Mersch and Dowd.

– Brodzinski: Worked his butt off, did a great job on the forecheck leading up to Bissonnette’s goal.

– Gravel: Played an excellent game in all situations. Great next to McBain. Confident with the puck, played PP and PK. Good outlet passing, never panicked.

– Overall: Ontario forechecked the Condors to smithereens. The Condors looked a bit sluggish, having played the night before, but the Reign thoroughly impressed. Budaj looked solid in net, as the defense allowed him to see most of the shots.

– Here is what Bissonnette had to say following the win…

Follow @mayorNHL

http://archive.org/download/BizOpeningNightReign/BizOpeningNightReign.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: AHL, HockeyBlog, Interview, Kings, NHL, Spotlight Story Tagged With: AHL, hockey, Kempe, Kings, Los Angeles, Mayor, MayorsManor, quote, Reign, Zykov

About John Hoven

John Hoven is a member of the of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and co-hosts Kings of the Podcast. He is also the founder and editor of MayorsManor.com, which has been named Best Sports Blog in Los Angeles by LA Weekly and Hockey Blog of the Year by Yahoo Sports. Click "ABOUT OUR TEAM" above for a full bio.

Primary Sidebar

Kings Of The Podcast

Kings Of The Podcast: S2, E5 – Preview and Predictions for 31 NHL Teams

With the first puck drop of what should be a wild ride of a season now upon us, Kings Of The Podcast returns with a jam packed show. This episode is rather simple to tee up… We have a comment (usually in the form of a prediction or key question) for each of the league’s […]

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Game 2: Kings v Wild – Todd McLellan Postgame Quotes
  • Game 2: Kings v Wild – Mikey Anderson Postgame Quotes
  • Game 2: Kings v Wild – Adrian Kempe Postgame Quotes
  • FIRST GOAL CONTEST: Kings vs Wild – January 16
  • Reign Game Day: Projected Lineup and Pregame Thoughts from Wrobo
  • NHL RADIO REPLAY: Hoven Talks LA Kings, Byfield, Walker, Berube
  • January 16 – LA Kings Projected Lines and D Pairings for Game 2
  • January 15 – LA Kings Friday Practice Lines and D Pairings
  • LA Kings to Wear Five Different Jerseys This Season – Full Schedule
  • Game 1: Kings v Wild – Anze Kopitar Postgame Quotes

Tweets by mayorNHL

Footer

Archives

Tags

AHL Bernier Blackhawks Brown camp Carter Clifford coach comments Doughty draft Ducks Greene hockey interview Kings Kopitar Lombardi Los Angeles Manchester Mayor MayorsManor Mitchell Monarchs Murray NHL Ontario Penner Playoffs Prospect Quick quote Radio Reign Richards Sharks Stanley Cup Stoll Sutter Toffoli trade video WCB West Coast Bias Williams

MayorsManor

  • About Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Store

© 2021 MayorsManor.com