April 4

A typical Wednesday morning errand run got the day started, in the afternoon it was on to the Sovereign Center for game #2 of the playoff series with Elmira. My absence on Tuesday was noted by many including Yannick Tifu who came by the penalty bench in the pregame warmup and welcomed me back. The Royals got off to a good start on this night as Dale Mitchell (back from a month-long stay in the AHL) and Mikael Bedard scored early for a 2-0 first-period lead. Ian O'Connor made it 3-0 before the Jackals clawed back to get within one, Kenny Ryan's empty-netter in the final minute clinched a tough 4-2 win. Mark Owuya (also back from the "A") earned the win in goal, he was the goalie of record on Tuesday as well. The victory gives the Royals a two-games-to-none edge in the best-of-five series, the remaining games are in Elmira on Friday, Saturday and Monday if needed. The organization has seen in the past how tough that one more win can be to obtain (a so-called stranglehold is not necessarily unbreakable) but going to Elmira up 2-0 is the best scenario anyone could have asked for. We'll see what happens on the weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.