Category Archives: Pro
Beau knows Stanley
July 29th, 2016One day with the Stanley Cup could tell you all you need to know about Beau Bennett’s priorities. Bennett became the first California-born and –trained player to be part of a Stanley Cup champion when the Pittsburgh Penguins vanquished the Sharks in Game 6 in San Jose on June 13. He and Stanley started their…
NHL awards expansion franchise to Las Vegas, McPhee named GM
July 13th, 2016The National Hockey League announced in late June that it has granted an expansion franchise to Las Vegas. The franchise, which will begin play in 2017-18, was approved in a unanimous vote by the League’s Board of Governors during a meeting today in Las Vegas. Ownership of the Las Vegas franchise will principally reside with Bill Foley….
Kings’ Doughty, Kopitar take home top NHL awards
June 23rd, 2016Two players from the Los Angeles Kings bagged top honors last night at the NHL awards ceremony in Las Vegas. Drew Doughty (pictured) won his first Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman, while new captain Anze Kopitar was awarded the Selke Trophy as best defensive forward and the Lady Byng Trophy as the most sportsmanlike player. Doughty…
How Swede it is: Lasch wins championships, scoring title
June 21st, 2016To reach the Swedish Hockey League’s mountaintop, Ryan Lasch has climbed out of his share of valleys. His perseverance helped him accomplish a rare feat this season. Not only did he help Frolunda HC win Sweden’s championship, but he also helped Frolunda capture the Champions Hockey League against other top teams from around Europe. Lasch,…
Going out on top: San Jose’s Alonzo part of FHL champs
June 1st, 2016If ever there was a way to finish a professional hockey career, winning a championship is the ultimate way to go out. Justin Alonzo played three seasons of pro hockey and won titles the past two seasons with Federal Hockey League (FHL) clubs, including last month with the first-year Port Huron (Mich.) Prowlers. He captained…
Reign one step closer to returning to Calder Cup Finals
May 22nd, 2016The Ontario Reign has taken another step toward reaching its ultimate goal of repeating as Calder Cup champions after defeating the San Diego Gulls four games to one to capture the Southern California rivals’ American Hockey League (AHL) Western Conference Pacific Division Finals playoff series. The Reign improves to 7-2 through two rounds of divisional…
AHL Man of the Year winners impact local communities
May 17th, 2016Prior to the start of the Calder Cup playoffs, the American Hockey League announced the individual team winners of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year awards. These players were selected by their respective clubs for their outstanding contributions to the local community and charitable organizations during the 2015-16 season. From this list of…
AHL Pacific Division Finals pairs Southern California rivals
May 4th, 2016Though the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings suffered what some might consider unkind early exits from the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Southern California arch rivals’ American Hockey League affiliates (Ontario Reign and San Diego Gulls) are ready to duke it out on the ice in the Calder Cup’s Western Conference Pacific Division Finals. The…
Reign’s Budaj piling up AHL awards for net excellence
April 21st, 2016In his 14-year professional career, goaltender Peter Budaj had never experienced such an overwhelmingly successful season as that in 2015-16 for the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate. Budaj, 33, a native of Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, started 60 of the Reign’s 68 games, posted a 1.75 goals-against average, .932 save percentage…
AHL Calder Cup playoffs coming into sharper focus
April 11th, 2016Sixteen of the American Hockey League’s 30 teams qualify for the upcoming Calder Cup championship playoffs — eight teams each from the AHL’s Western and Eastern conferences and four teams in each of the league’s four geographic divisions. The 2016 Calder Cup champion will need to win four elimination series – division semifinals, division finals,…