November 26-30

Street hockey playoffs continued at the rink on Monday evening with game #4 of the Midwest finals, the Misfits (great name) met Jr's Cycle Shop. As fate would have it the team trailing the series won to force a deciding game on Tuesday. Mother Nature had other ideas, we had a light snowfall overnight into Tuesday that made the rink surface unplayable. By Wednesday morning the rink was clear except for a small crust of snow along the one side, I shoveled that out and threw it into the center of the rink, with warmer temperatures and a brilliant sunshine it melted away in no time. The game on Wednesday was your typical "for all the marbles" fight to the finish, each team worked out its pregame jitters by scoring in the first minute of play. That 1-1 tie held until late in the game, after the Misfits scored two quickies for a 3-1 lead they held off a furious rally by Jr's to win it 3-2. The end of the series marks the end of the season, we'll be back for the Spring league in April. The Royals played two games on the road during the week (winning on Wednesday and losing on Friday), the boys are back home on Wednesday the 5th against the Florida Everblades. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 24-25

They say an animal is most dangerous when it is wounded, that might be the best way to describe what happened on Saturday night at the Sovereign Center. The Evansville Icemen (one of the new clubs in the ECHL this season) made their first appearance in Reading, they came to town with one of the league's worst records and because of injuries and suspensions they played a lineup that was three men short. With the Royals riding an eleven-game win streak it looked like it might be easy but it wasn't as the streak ended with a 4-2 loss. The Royals' goals were courtesy of rookie Barry Almeida and veteran Patrick Wellar, Brandon Anderson started in net and took the loss. On a side note I had the pleasure of meeting Evansville radio announcer Terry Ficorelli before the game, he is a veteran of the business who worked AHL hockey in Baltimore in the mid-1980s. I was able to hear those games on radio back then and always enjoyed listening to Terry, his broadcasting style is unique and very popular with his fanbase. On Sunday we capped a busy weekend with an AHL game in Hershey. The Bears hosted the Toronto Marlies in a game of Royals affiliates past and present. The Marlies' roster featured ex-Royals Greg Scott, Will Acton and Kenny Ryan plus goalies Mark Owuya, Ben Scrivens and Jussi Ryness. On the Bears' side were Alex Berry, Evan Barlow (just recalled from Reading) and T.J. Syner. The Bears won the game 4-2, Alex Berry scored the game's first goal and Evan Barlow assisted on the second. Mark Owuya was the goalie of record for the Marlies. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 22-23

Thursday was the typical slow holiday, I never left the house because there was no reason to. Had a haircut appointment on Friday afternoon, in the evening we were back at the Sovereign Center as the weekend homestand continued. The Royals extended the winning streak to eleven games with a 5-2 decision over the Greenville Road Warriors. It was 2-2 early in the third period before a three-goals-in three-minutes salvo broke the game open. Denny Urban led the charge with two goals including the game-winner. Adam Comrie, David Vallorani and David Marshall added single tallies in support of winning goaltender Philipp Grubauer. The club has not lost since October 28, they'll look to keep the ball rolling on Saturday night against Evansville. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 19-21

Street hockey season is headed down the home stretch, the Midwest division championship series started on Monday evening and continued on Tuesday. The teams split the two games insuring that the series will continue after the holiday weekend. On Wednesday the ladies were along as we returned to the Sovereign Center in downtown Reading. This was to be a historic night in franchise history as the Royals notched their tenth consecutive win defeating the South Carolina Stingrays 5-4. The previous mark of nine straight had stood since November of 2004, that year the club started 0-5 before going on the 9-0 run. This season had started remarkably similar at 1-5-1, with the win over the 'Rays the club's record now stands at 11-5-1. Goal scorers for the Royals included newcomer Evan Barlow (two goals and the game's #1 star), Kirk MacDonald and Denny Urban also lit the lamp. It took an OT shootout to decide matters, Philipp Grubauer stopped three of the five SC shots he faced to earn the win. The boys are at home on Friday against Greenville, on Saturday the new Evansville Icemen make their first appearance in Reading. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 15-18

Street hockey playoffs continued on Thursday evening, with two of the divisions finished we're down to one game a night. This night featured the deciding game of a semifinal series, the finals start on Monday the 19th. Friday and Sunday were quiet and uneventful, the perfect bookends for a busy Saturday. Jenny and Helen were along for the evening's lacrosse game at the Sovereign Center, for Helen it was her first time seeing the sport in person. The Rockets' inaugural season has been a struggle as the franchise seeks to establish an identity, on this night the club broke through for its first win as they defeated the Syracuse Stingers 23-8. It was 12-1 at the half, the second half was more competitive but for the out-manned Stingers it was too little too late. The Rockets have one final home game on Saturday December 1 when the Charlotte Copperheads visit. The day's big news came in the afternoon when the Reading Phillies revealed the club's new nickname. The team is now the Reading "Fightin' Phils". I will freely admit I was against a name change because the franchise has forty-six years of tradition and history, changing the name would compromise that especially if the new name was something bizarre and ridiculous (as is the trend these days in minor league sports and something I truly feared might happen). As it is the new name is merely the old name with an adjective added, it's not really a change at all. "Fightin' Phils" is a nod to our major league affiliate's history (the 1950s era in particular) and most fans will still call the team the Phillies. Early reaction on the internet seemed to be largely negative as most of the fanbase wanted no change of any kind. It's been very controversial ever since it was announced, what may happen from here remains to be seen. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 12-14

The new week started with some terrible news: our dear friend Mazi lost her mother over the weekend. She suffered a stroke on Friday morning and passed away early Saturday morning. She was in her 80s and had her share of health problems but that doesn't soften the blow at all, we had just seen her when we visited Mazi in Pennsville last August. Mazi has had a rough time lately, her older brother (who I never met) passed away in early October. We don't get to see her very often since she moved from our area but we talk frequently via internet, she's a wonderful woman and a dear friend. Street hockey playoffs are well underway, on Monday the East Division championship was decided. The West Division wrapped up on Tuesday so all that remains is the Midwest, we could be done before the holiday weekend if we're lucky. On Wednesday night we were at the Sovereign Center as the Royals hosted the Elmira Jackals. After winning just once in their first seven games the club posted its seventh straight victory with a 2-1 overtime win. Elmira struck first and carried that lead into the second period, the Royals tied it on Jesse Todd's first goal as a pro (he played at Merrimack College in '11-12). It stayed 1-1 into OT, the game was decided when Ian O'Connor tipped home a shot by defenseman Brett Flemming for the GWG. O'Connor earned the game's number-one star for his effort, winning goalie Philipp Grubauer was #2 star. The club improves to 8-5-1, after two road games over the weekend the boys are back home on Wednesday the 21st. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 10-11

The busy weekend continued on Saturday as the Trenton Titans came to the Sovereign Center for back-to-back games. With Veterans Day on Sunday both games featured a salute to those who have served. On Saturday the Royals got on the board early and were never headed in a 4-1 victory. Kirk MacDonald, David Vallorani, Denny Urban and Adam Comrie scored for the Royals, Brandon Anderson was the goaltender of record. On Sunday afternoon we were back at it early for a 4:00 faceoff, the boys completed the weekend sweep with a come-from-behind 4-3 win. It was 2-0 Trenton in the second period before David Vallorani and Alex Berry pulled the Royals even. The Titans retook the lead midway through the third, in the closing moments of regulation time Ian O'Connor lit the lamp to force overtime. It would require the OT shootout to decide matters, the Royals took it two goals to one to earn the win for Philipp Grubauer. Since starting 1-5-1 the Royals have six in a row, five of them over the Titans. The clubs have seen each other seven times already, they will not meet again until late December. The Royals' next home date is on Wednesday the 14th against Elmira. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 5-9

Street hockey continued at the rink on Monday evening, the East Division started its playoffs while the West wrapped up its regular season schedule. On Tuesday the Midwest finished its season, after an off-day for rain on Wednesday all three divisions were into playoffs on Thursday night. On Friday I started a three-in-three at the Sovereign Center as the Reading Rockets lacrosse team played their first home game in six weeks. The club came in winless at 0-2-2, on this night the struggles continued as the visiting Charlotte Copperheads won it 16-12. With Friday night high school football games around the area the crowd was light but those who were there were into it, indoor lacrosse is a fast-moving rugged game. The Rockets have two home games left, they are on November 17 and 29. The Royals won in Wheeling on Wednesday and in Trenton on Friday, they host the Titans back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. McCaskey and Lancaster Catholic were involved in football playoffs on Friday evening, LCHS won while JPM lost to the defending state champions (no disgrace there). Take care, thanks for reading.

November 3-4

Saturday night hockey at the Sovereign Center with the Royals as they met the Trenton Titans in the back end of a home-and-home. The boys won on Friday in New Jersey 4-2, on this night they made it two in a row with a tough 2-1 verdict. Yannick Tifu and Alex Berry scored for the Royals, Philipp Grubauer picked up the win in goal. Berry played for the Royals in 2010, he spent the following season in the AHL. In September of '11 he suffered a severe injury that kept him out most of the year, this season he's working his way back. The win improves the club's record to 3-5-1 in the early going, the boys are back home on Saturday the 10th. On Sunday we had street hockey make-up games at the rink, we started at 4:30 and were done by 9:00. The big news of the day broke in the afternoon at the ballpark in Reading, they had a charity fundraiser (which I was not at because of street hockey). The news was shocking and stunning to say the least. It was announced that the franchise will be "rebranded" including a new nickname, the "Reading Phillies" will no longer exist. Internet social media exploded upon the announcement, most of it harshly negative. I will admit I'm not crazy about it either, to me it seems completely unnecessary. If the franchise was struggling it might be understandable but that is far from the case. Since 1967 the Reading Phillies have stood as the gold standard for minor league success, it is a name recognized worldwide. It seems to me that forty-six years of history and tradition is being forsaken in favor of change for the sake of change. The new name will be revealed on November 17, I have no clue what it may be but give the recent trends in minor league sports I fear the worst. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 1-2

Thursday night at Reservoir Park as we resumed the league after a three day weather hiatus. The Midwest division played three games, we were done before 9:00. We'll be playing makeup games on Sunday the 4th, two of them are from this week while three others are outstanding from September (a makeup schedule is like a jigsaw puzzle, you plug the pieces in wherever they fit). On Friday it was chilly and blustery, in the evening we were at McCaskey for the final football game of the regular season. The LCHS Crusaders made the short trip to Tornado Alley for the latest chapter of the city rivalry. The schools were division-mates for a number of years in the 70s and 80s, after two years as a non-league game this marked the first divisional meeting since 1988. Before the game we did the requisite senior night stuff, not unlike the previous week at Rossmere Stadium. This game is always unusual for me, as a McCaskey alum my heart will always be there but since I also work for LCHS my attitude is let them knock each other silly and may the better team win. On this night at JPM the Crusaders were that team as they took the measure of the Red Tornado with a 36-13 win. Roman Clay scored twice for LCHS, Nassir Weaver rushed for a TD, Charles Scarff caught a scoring pass and and Keenan Reigel returned an interception for a touchdown. The Red Tornado got on the board with TD runs by Collins Gantz and Aaron Swinton. McCaskey finishes the regular season 4-6, LCHS (in their return to Section I of the LL League) wrapped up at 7-3. Both teams will advance to the district playoffs, the Crusaders as a higher seed in Class AAA and the Red Tornado as an underdog lower seed in Quad-A. Take care, thanks for reading.