January 16-18

Back at the Arena on Friday evening as the brand-new Greensboro Gargoyles made their first-ever appearance in Reading. Greensboro, North Carolina has a long history with hockey dating back to the 1960s, the Greensboro Generals were in the ECHL from 1999 to 2004. This occasion was a homecoming of sorts for former Royals head coach Jason Binkley who signed on as an assistant coach with the Gargoyles over the summer.  On this night the Royals took charge early and never relinquished it, goals by Hunter Johannes and Jacob Frasca made it 2-0 after one, In the second period newcomer Garrett Devine extended the lead to three, later in the period Liam Devlin, Brandon Saigeon and Connor McMenamin scored in quick order making it 6-0. That was all Keith Petruzzelli needed to record his second shutout of the year and the seventh of his pro career. On Saturday we had some morning snow but nothing particularly worrisome, by afternoon the sun was out and most of it had melted. In the evening we were back for game #2 with Greensboro on Military Appreciation Night. The Friday magic was nowhere to be seen on this night, Connor McMenamin scored the lone goal in a 4-1 loss, Keith  Petruzzelli was goaltender of record. The club's mark stands at 18-15-4 overall and 12-7-1 at home, they stay home for the rubber match with Greensboro on Martin Luther King Day. Sunday was a virtual rerun of Saturday with another shot of the Ugly White $hit, it would have been a perfect day to stay home and warm but for us there was no such luck. Jenny's friend has three young daughters, the youngest (Abrielle aka "Abby") turned five recently and this was the day of her birthday party. It was held at a local roller skating rink (something I personally never learned how to do and at my age now I wouldn't dare try), there was plenty to eat and by all accounts everybody went home happy. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 12-15

Monday afternoon on the bus with the boys for the first of two consecutive trips into Lebanon County (whoever scheduled this particular week should be boiled in oil). JPM defeated Hempfield in my absence on Friday, on this night we were in the city of Lebanon proper. A few years back Lebanon won the league title, that was immediately followed by a losing streak that reached almost fifty games before it mercifully ended. The program has improved over the past two years or so but there is still a lot of work to do. This gym has never been easy to play in and this night was no exception, after a 24-point JV win the varsity followed suit with a tough 66-63 victory. Lebanon led by eight at the half but in the second JPM outscored them by eleven and pulled it out. Eight players got into the game and six scored, four in double figures: DeMere Salisbery had twenty-five, Jaloney Porter scored fifteen, Amir Thompson-Hanson added eleven and Kyle Brown had ten. EJ Abernathy had three points and Carsyn Haines rounded out the book with two. After two nights off we were back on Thursday for the trip to Cedar Crest, about two miles south of where we were on Monday. CC is another place that isn't exactly friendly territory, this night was their Senior Night (in a scheduling rarity, this was in fact their last game on their home floor). The JPM JV lost badly, the varsity game was like walking down the pier and there was no ship. The final was 80-72 which ends the club's three-game winning streak, DeMere Salisbery (29) and Jaloney Porter (13) were the only two in double figures. JPM is back in action on Tuesday the 20th with a non-league game at Lancaster Catholic. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 9-11

Friday night at the Arena for the first hockey games of the new year. The Royals welcomed the Maine Mariners for a three-game set, these three games comprising the Mariners' lone visit during the regular season. Over the last little while the Royals have been one banged-up hockey club, with several key members on the injured list head coach Anthony Peters added four new players over this weekend in an effort to field a full lineup. On Friday in the opener the club started strong, Carson Golder lit the lamp in the game's second minute to make it 1-0. Maine tied the game seven minutes in, a minute after that Artem Kulakov gave the Royals the lead, Cam Cook's goal late in the period put the Royals up 3-1 at the intermission. After a scoreless second period the Mariners rallied in the third to tie the game, in overtime it took a minute and thirty-eight seconds for Maine to complete the comeback. Keith Petruzzelli took the loss and deserved a better fate. Saturday was Star Wars Night and the force was not with the Royals in any way, shape or form. Maine scored single goals in the second and third periods and made them stand up for a 2-0 win, Yaniv Perets was goalie of record. On Sunday the "threekend" (as Maine broadcaster Michael Keeley likes to refer to them) ended, on this day the Mariners carried a 1-0 lead in to the second period. Jeremy Michel scored a pair of goals to give the Royals the lead but Maine replied in kind to lead 3-2 in the third. With two minutes left Connor McMenamin found the net to tie it, in overtime Brandon Saigeon nailed down Sweet Victory with the OTGWG for winning goalie Keith Petruzzelli. The club emerges from the weekend at 17-13-4 overall, 11-6-1 at the midpoint of the home schedule. The club plays at home on Friday the 16th and Saturday the 17th versus the brand-new Greensboro Gargoyles. Take care, thanks for reading

January 5-8

At McCaskey on Monday evening (loose tooth, scabs and all) for the first games of the calendar year, York Suburban (from-you guessed it-the suburbs of the city of York) was the opponent for a non-league matchup. The JV squad won by three points, in the varsity game JPM lost 60-52. It was a tie game entering the final quarter, in the fourth period we were outscored 19-11 which proved to be the difference. DeMere Salisbery led with eighteen, Kyle Brown had twelve and Amir Thompson Hanson added ten points. EJ Abernathy scored seven, Jaloney Porter had four and JV player Nikola Draguljic (dra-GOOL-yitch) went 1-2 at the line in his varsity debut. On Wednesday morning I was able to see my dentist, he surveyed the damage and formulated a plan which begins with a return visit on the 26th. In the evening we traveled southwest of the city as league play came back into session with games at Penn Manor, The JV made it two in a row with a nine-point win, the varsity finally snapped its four-game skid with a 61-39 victory. JPM was in control practically from the outset, a 22-8 fourth quarter blew the game open. Eleven players got in and eight scored: DeMere led with fifteen, EJ had thirteen, Marrcus Laureano and "Niko" Draguljic added ten points each. Kyle Brown had five, Laron Gray scored four, Carsyn Haines and Amir Thompson-Hanson added two each (an off-night for Amir but he'll bounce back). The record stands at 6-7 overall, 3-1 in the division. One last basketball game for the week on Thursday night, old friend Jerry Johnson's La Academia squad faced Lincoln Leadership Academy (from Allentown) in one of their rare home games. Whenever I can help Jerry out I'm glad to do it especially since this night was their Senior Night, before the game Zach Stoner, Elijah Perez, Kellan Jones and Trevor Orr were recognized. La Academia won the game 36-34 on a last-second shot sending the Senior Night crowd home happy. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 1-4

The new year began in very inauspicious fashion for me, I had a altercation with an icy sidewalk in front of my house and the sidewalk won. I lost my balance and fell forward unable to brace my fall, I hit my mouth on the steps and loosened a front tooth, scabbed up my nose, chin and both knees. I called my dentist but he's out of the office until the 5th, later on the weekend I noticed some unusual swelling in my legs and the "surrounding area". Sunday was the sixty-ninth anniversary of something that happened in 1957, I spent a portion of it in the ER at the local hospital. I went in around 11:00 on Saturday night (how busy could they be at that hour?), they did an ultrasound on the private area and some other tests. They said the swelling is almost certainly unrelated to the fall I took, it's possibly fluid buildup from not "going often enough" (I always thought I was relatively regular but what do I know). They gave me a prescription and sent me home at 4:30am. I hope this isn't a harbinger of what 2026 is going to be like around here, I may be screaming for '25 to make a comeback (and the latter half of that year wasn't exactly a party, either). Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 29-31

Wednesday afternoon in Reading at the Arena, the Royals hosted the Norfolk Admirals for the annual New Years Eve game. Faceoff was at 4:00, on this day the Royals ran the home-ice winning streak to seven with a tight 2-1 victory. Nolan Burke and Alec Butcher scored in the second period, after the Ads got on the board in the third Yaniv Perets and company shut the door down the stretch to claim the win. The club ends the 2025 portion of the schedule at 16-11-2 (10-5 at home), the boys are back home for a three-game set with the Maine Mariners on January 9th. I had Jenny and Helen home by 8:00, I was home myself by 8:30 and very glad to be there. In my younger years New Years Eve was a big deal but not anymore, at this point in my life I'd rather stay in and be warm (especially when it's been as cold and windy as it has been lately). We'll see you on the flip side in 2026, everybody. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 26-28

Friday dawned with a coating of snow and icy conditions, word came down early that the evening's games at McCaskey were postponed. This was supposed to be the first round of our holiday tournament with the  consolation and championship on Saturday afternoon, with the postponement the tournament became a Saturday-Sunday affair. In the opening round on Saturday Upper Darby beat York, in the nightcap JPM lost to Harrisburg 80-67. We trailed by ten at the quarter but fought back to lead by one at the half, in the third Harrisburg outscored us by thirteen and essentially put the game away. DeMere Salisbery led with twenty-five, Jaloney Porter had eighteen and Amir Thompson-Hanson hit doubles with eleven. Chris Leon added eight, Kyle Brown had three points and EJ Abernathy rounded out the book with two. On Sunday (a very rare day for high school athletic events) in the championship game Harrisburg defeatted Upper Darby, in the consolation game the Red Tornado fell to York 85-76. This game was like watching the Harrisburg game all over again, it was tight until the third quarter when York took command. Eight players got into the game for JPM and everybody scored, DeMere (named as McCaskey's tournament All-Star) had a huge game with 35, Jaloney joined him in double figures with 14. Kyle Brown had eight, Amir added seven, Chris Leon and Laron Gray had four each, EJ Abernathy and Carsyn Haines each had two. The club reaches the season's midpoint (already?) with a mark of 5-6, the next game is in the new year on January 5th. Take care, thanks for reading

December 22-25

Monday afternoon at McCaskey for an uncomfortable forty-mile bus ride northwest into the suburbs of the state capital. The destination was Central Dauphin East HS, a place we have visited before but not since 2021. CDE is a member of the Mid-Penn Conference where the officiating crews are known for getting more involved than they need to be, on this night it luckily wasn't much of a factor. The JV squad lost by six, the varsity lost by ten 65-55. Only five players scored for JPM but two hit double figures, Jaloney Porter was high man with twenty-one and DeMere Salisbery had fifteen. Amir Thompson-Hanson just missed with nine, EJ Abernathy added eight and Kyle Brown had a field goal. The loss drops the mark to 5-4 overall, the club returns home for the annual holiday tournament on Friday the 26th. This is a time of year that is well-documented as one of my least favorite, I lost any feeling for it decades ago and it's never fully come back. I spent a portion of Thursday with Jenny and her mother at their place, Helen made an excellent supper of ham, scalloped potatoes and lima beans and much like Thanksgiving I did not go home hungry. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 18-21

Thursday afternoon at JPM for the bus ride into the northern suburbs and Manheim Township. Every time we play in that gym Strange Things Happen, either we play poorly or we get a 100% hose job or it's a combination of the two. The JV squad lost by nineteen, in the varsity game it was mostly Option A as mentioned above. We were never quite in sync all night long and Township did just about anything they wanted, when the game mercifully ended we were on the wrong end of a 52-42 loss that didn't feel anywhere as close as the final score might indicate..DeMere Salisbery had a strong game with twenty points but there was little support underneath. Amir Thompson-Hanson and Buddy Patterson had six apiece, EJ Abernathy had five, Laron Gray had three and Kyle Brown scored two points. The club is 2-1 within the division with the next divisional game in the new year on January 7 at Penn Manor. Friday night was a hockey night at the Arena, the Royals hosted Adirondack in the rematch from Wednesday. The club came out on fire in the first period, goals from Connor McMenamin, Carson Golder and Massimo Rizzo made it 3-0 at the intermission. The visiting Thunder rallied back to within one in the third but scores by Golder and Jacob Frasca wrapped around a single ADK tally gave the Royals a sweep of the set 5-3. Yaniv Perets was the winner in goal as the Royals improve to 15-10-2, 9-5 at home including a six-game winning streak. The next home game is on New Years Eve with the Norfolk Admirals. On Saturday afternoon the busy week finally ended with another basketball game, Eastern York visited from Wrightsville (just across the mighty Susquehanna River) for a non-league tilt. The JPM JV righted the ship with a six-point win, the varsity took care of business 62-50. On this day three players hit double figures, DeMere led with seventeen, Amir and Jaloney Porter each had twelve. Carsyn Haines and Kyle Brown had eight points, Chris Leon scored three and EJ Abernathy had a field goal. The boys stand at 5-3 overall, they're back in action on Monday the 22nd. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 15-17

Tuesday night hoops at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Cedar Crest in a divisional matchup. CC is the current defending league champion and they lost a lot from that team to graduation but the pedigree is still there. The JPM JV dropped to 3-3 with a thirteen-point loss. the varsity game was the battle everybody expected. We trailed by ten at the quarter but rallied to lead by two at the half, entering the last quarter the lead was six and the boys were able to hold on 68-63. Nine players got into the game for JPM and eight of them scored, on this night Jaloney Porter was high man with twenty-two points. DeMere Salisbery hit doubles with fourteen, Amir Thompson-Hanson had thirteen, Kyle Brown had six. EJ Abernathy and Laron Gray had four each, Chris Leon scored three and Buddy Patterson added a field goal. The record stands at 4-2 overall and 2-0 in division, we travel to Manheim Township on Thursday (always a fun assignment). On Wednesday evening the Royals were back on home ice for the opener of a two-game series with the Adirondack Thunder. The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the game's first two minutes before Ben Meehan tied it seven minutes later. The remainder of regulation time was scoreless, in overtime it was That Man again as Hunter Johannes netted the OTGWG with forty-nine seconds left. The win is the fifth consecutive on home ice and improves the mark to 8-5 at home, 14-10-2 overall, Game #2 with the Thunder is on Friday night, the last home game before the holiday break. Take care, thanks for reading.