Sorry for posting this 2 days late, but I went to the game on (Halloween) Saturday at 3PM.
Hadn't been to a hockey game in over a decade, and it was a blast.
But 1st ...
IMO, the entertainment level of AHL hockey, on a scale of "10" is:
"
11".
Seats were at center ice, 3/4 of the way up, great view.
Nice building.
Parking is easy and only $
5.
I highly recommend going to see The Reign if you live in SoCal.
I plan to go to a few more games this season, for sure.
Also, check out
Luxe Asian/Internat'l Buffet before/after the game. It's quite nearby the arena, and it is, frankly, dynamite.
Also, I noticed the building was barely 1/2-full, if that.
Is it normally that empty, or was that just because it was Halloween? Where was everybody?
Hockey impressions:
The Reign showed good structure you could clearly see, with nice, quick breakouts, well-executed reverses to get open ice, and excellent defensive positioning. They look well-coached.
Dowd was a -2 for the game, and got beat on a play resulting in a goal 24 seconds into the game, but I still feel he played well most of the game, and showed some nice quickness with the puck, as well as making some nice defensive and offensive plays. His effort seems relentless, no matter where he is on the ice.
On that 1st goal, the puck squirted under his stick just as he battled to get to it. The puck got thru and an opposition player made a nice pass, and Bam! 1-0.
I still think Dowd will be a King, though. Perfect bottom-6 C.
Gravel looked as masterful as any Reign player, both on Defense and offense. Looks like another keeper to me. He looks sure of himself out there, and very much in control.
Note: Gravel played the right side, pretty much all game.
Forbort looked pretty good, but a notch below Gravel. He skated well, moved the puck well, and looked solid most of the time.
Zykov got off 2 or 3 nice shots and, made a slick behind-the-back pass, and looked promising, but not dominant at this point.
Mersch looked smooth with the puck, and played repeatedly right on the goalie's doorstep when in the O-zone. Looked pretty good overall, but was not dominant in this game.
Kempe looked quick and agile, made a couple of nice plays (including a slick, evasive move to keep control of the puck along the boards), and he had an assist on the tying goal. I can see the promise, and he should be getting better and better as the season progresses.
My primary impression of the
team, aside from looking good in many aspects, is that they seemed to lack top-6 offensive punch. With Weal, O'Neal, Miller and Shore gone, the explosive crew from last season
is no more.
The loss of center
Kris Newbury to injury now puts everything onto the shoulders of Nic Dowd, who, while talented, is not a classic top-line C, even in the mold of a guy like Jordan Weal, who was so effective with the club last season, even though Dowd is more likely to make the NHL, IMO, due to his gritty, defensive style.
The team is good defensively and looks to have good cohesion, but may suffer from a lack of goals this season, unless they can sign a capable AHL-level C, or at least until they get Newbury back in Dec.
Other teams can totally focus on the top line with so little
scoring support, so scoring may be tough.
Great game, though.
And for sure ...
I'll be back.
