Ontario Reign (ECHL)



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 the minor league affiliate team of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League.

The Reign formerly existed as the Texas Wildcatters 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 two other affiliates: the Manchester Monarchs and secondary ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals. 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.

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 Award 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.

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.