February 9-10

The Wednesday snowfall proved to be little more than a nuisance, brilliant sunshine on Thursday eliminated most of the remnants. Jenny and I had our usual lunch date which was basically the extent of the day's activities. On Friday Jenny and her mother were along as we headed north to Reading for the Royals' first home game since January 25. The club went 4-2 on the recent road trip, on this night the Elmira Jackals visited for the first game of a back-to-back set. It was 1-0 Elmira in the second period before Matt Caruana (back from the Toronto Marlies) evened it up, a few minutes later newcomer Zach McKelvie (on assignment from AHL Providence) gave the Royals a 2-1 lead. The Jackals fought back to tie it at 2-2 as the game moved into overtime, in the OT Yannick Tifu scored the game-winner with one second left on the clock to give the Royals a stunning 3-2 victory. Time expired as the goal was scored but the referee called it good emphatically, as the Royals celebrated the win the Jackals protested vehemently but to no avail. The Royals' record on home ice has suffered this season, if a team ever needed a lift at home this game may well have been it. The win improves the club's record to 21-20-6 (6-12-3 at the Sovereign Center) and sets the stage for the Saturday night rematch. It was sleeting after the game, they are calling for snow showers on Saturday. Take care, thanks for reading.