Practice Notes: Reign Mix Up Routines and Rewards Ahead of Cleveland

The Ontario Reign took the ice at Ontario Center Ice Arena with new training tools and adjusted regimen outlined by Head Coach Mike Stothers.

The @ontarioreign are breaking out some new training tools. Modry adding extra defense. pic.twitter.com/UbMJomFUhe

— Joey Zakrzewski (@ReignInsider) October 24, 2017

Still searching for the first win of the season after the first five games and a rematch of the 2016 Western Conference Finals ahead on Friday and Saturday against the Cleveland Monsters at Quicken Loans Arena, it was time to “mix it up” and reward proper execution.

“Well…we went with a shorter practice today Jay,” mentioned Stothers. “Because we actually made it through practice with some execution. So…that’s something we talked about. Practices get shorter if we execute properly and we actually get through the drills like we have in past seasons. If we have to keep stopping and addressing issues, then practice tends to get a little longer. It’s AMAZING how you can knock 15 minutes off of practice. Hopefully it carries into the game.”

Now…no disrespect to the professional process, but doesn’t that seems like a return to a youth hockey process and a supreme example of returning to basics?

“It’s always been that way,” Stothers said. “You can only have their attention for so long. As you mentioned with kids, their minds start to wander. The game is an hour. 60 minutes. You have to play at pace for 60 minutes. You should be able to practice with pace for 60 minutes. If you’re going longer, it means you’re probably not doing the details and you cannot let it slide. Taking into consideration that we have some newer guys and still adjusting, you can accept it, but at some point you have to address it. It’s going on late October and we’ve been going since September. Early September for the rookies so…you know what…lets just focus and dial in.

With that said…here is how the Reign dressed today:

White: Mersch, Hensick, Walker
Grey: Devane, Crescenzi, Iverson, Imama
Purple: Amadio, Brodzinski, Sutter
Orange: Maillet, Luff, Herr
Black: Gravel, LaDue, Falkovsky, Walker, Leslie, Lintuniemi, Roy
Goalies: Campbell, Petersen, Zatkoff

The Reign and Cleveland Monsters clash on Friday and Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio at 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. before returning to Citizens Business Bank Arena on Wednesday, November 1 vs. San Jose.