Hockey is back in Reno and so are the fans.
The Reno Ice Raiders made their debut at the Jennifer M. O’Neal Community Ice Arena on Saturday night by defeating the Stockton Stampede by a score of 8-2 in front of a rambunctious, standing-room-only crowd.
Reno native, Mickey Lang, led the Ice Raiders with four points on three goals and one assist. Michael O’Malley was tremendous in net for the Ice Raiders, stonewalling the Stampede on multiple power plays and many high-quality scoring chances.
Sam Sommers, recently acquired from the San Diego Skates, chipped in two goals, along with solo tallies from Chris Whitten, Zeph Fagergren, and Nicholas Anderson. All lines for the Ice Raiders were flying as they scored three goals at even strength, four on the power play, and one short-handed.
While the Ice Raiders might be new to Reno, their history from NorCal was not forgotten by the Stampede and the rivalry carried over. In between the Ice Raiders eight goals, the game included 39 penalties, eight of which were fighting majors and six game misconducts.
The crowd of over 600 fans also brought their A-game, starting “Let’s Go Reno” chants during warmups and erupting with thunderous roars with every Ice Raiders goal, hit, and fight. The hits were plentiful and the collisions were bone-jarring, rivaling those of any NHL game.
“Everything about this game went as well or even better than we could have hoped,” said Jess Peterson, owner and General Manager of the Ice Raiders. “The team played great, but it was the fans that really made the atmosphere amazing. They were loud and rowdy which really pumped up the players. We can’t wait for the next game. Stockton was awesome as well; they came ready to play.”
This game was the first exhibition game of the 2021-2022 season for the Ice Raiders in the Mountain West Hockey League. Peterson expects a 15-20 game season with at least a dozen home games at Reno Ice starting in late October. Season tickets will be available once the regular season schedule is finalized.
Story by Phillip Goodman – Special to MWHL
