Reign defeat Eagles and Quakes to play annual exhibition against APU

ONTARIO – The Ontario Reign scored three second period goals and went on to beat the visiting Colorado Eagles, 4-2, Saturday night in front of 8,984 fans at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

The Reign got goals from center Bill Bagron, forward Kyle Kraemer, defenseman Mike Montgomery and right wing Derek Couture in the victory.

The win was music to the ears of jetlagged defenseman and Vancouver, British Columbia native Alan Mazur, who picked up two assists after just joining the Reign Saturday night straight from playing for Stars in Dundee, Scotland. In fact, Mazur said he had just been in four countries in the past 24 hours: the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada and finally the United States.

“It was a good game,” Mazur said. “It feels good to get a win. I thought we played hard. We had a couple of lapses, but we did OK.”

Mazur added he knows he is going to enjoy playing in Southern California.

“The rink is nice,” he said. “The fans are unreal. It’s really nice.”

Up, 1-0, following the first period, the Reign doubled their lead on a power play goal by Kraemer at the 7:34 mark. Up on a two-man advantage, Kraemer put the puck past the left of Colorado goalkeeper Kyle Jones for his eighth goal of the year.

Defenseman Pat Bowen and Mazur both picked up assists on the play.

Just 90 seconds later the Reign made in 3-0 when Montgomery took a loose puck in the Colorado end and put it into the net. It was Montgomery’s first goal of the year with right wing Brady Calla getting the assist.

Colorado got one back five minutes later, but the Reign put the lead back at three at the 18:35 mark when Couture took a pass from the left from Mazur and put the puck in the net. Also getting an assist there was defenseman Adrian Van de Mosselaer.

In addition, Ontario outshot the Eagles, 34-32.

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE? The Ontario Reign announced Monday that they have suspended forward Francois Brisebois, and are maintaining the rookie’s rights.

Why? Because the The 5-foot-10 forward is leaving the team to pursue his education with hopes of attending medical school.

Brisebois, 23, signed with the Reign at the beginning of the 2011-12 season, missing just one game. In his first ECHL go-around, Brisebois was the Reign’s leading rookie scorer with 25 points (10g, 15a) in 38 games.

The Montreal, Quebec native spent four years playing in the ECAC for Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., where he amassed a total of 86 points (40g, 46a) in 145 games. Toward the end of the 2010-11 season, Brisebois made to the move to the AHL for his first professional appearance, playing in three games with the Binghamton Senators.

IN PRO SOCCER, the Los Angeles Galaxy announced last week that the club has re-signed midfielder David Beckham to a two-year contract, extending his stay with the MLS Cup Champions.

Beckham, who had the best season of his five-year MLS career in 2011, helped lead the Galaxy to their first MLS Cup title since 2005.

Since joining the club as the first Designated Player in MLS History, the Galaxy have reached MLS Cup twice and won the Supporters’ Shield twice, while also seeing the club reach new heights in terms of international recognition and popularity.

“This was an important decision for me,” Galaxy midfielder David Beckham said. “I had many offers from clubs from around the world, however, I’m still passionate about playing in America and winning trophies with the Galaxy.

“I’ve seen firsthand how popular soccer is now in the States and I’m as committed as ever to growing the game here.”

In five years with the Galaxy, Beckham was twice named to the MLS All-Star Team and finished the 2011 season with a career-best 15 assists, earning him a spot on the MLS Best XI. Beckham’s individual success helped translate to team success last season as the club repeated as Supporters’ Shield winners, finishing the season with a 19-5-10 record for 67 points, which were the second most in MLS history.

That form continued into the postseason where the Galaxy won all four of their postseason games, culminating with a 1-0 win over Houston at The Home Depot Center in MLS Cup

2011. Beckham had an assist in that game, just as he did in each of the club’s first three playoffs games, giving him a league-best four postseason assists on the year.

IN MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, the tradition will continue in 2012, as the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes will host the Azusa Pacific University Cougars in an exhibition match-up for the sixth straight year at The Epicenter in Rancho Cucamonga, on April 3with the first pitch scheduled for a special start time of 5:05 p.m.

Tickets are just $5 and the proceeds will once again benefit the Cougar athletic department.

The seven-inning game will again serve as a tune-up for the Quakes, who will kick off their 140-game California League season just two nights later, as they’ll host their division rivals, the Inland Empire 66ers on April 6 at 7 p.m.

The Quakes versus Cougars has become a tradition that a lot of fans look forward to said Quake Vice President and General Manager Grant Riddle.

“We’re proud that the Quakes can continue to help support the APU baseball team and athletic department and hope that this year’s contest is as exciting as the last few.

For tickets, contact APU assistant coach Drew Evans at 626-815-6000 ext. 3258.

Shel Segal is president of Arcadia, Calif.-based Segal Communications. He can be reached at shelsegal@yahoo.com.

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