December 15-16

Had the usual lunch date with Jenny and her mother on Saturday, in the evening we were back at the SC as the Orlando Solar Bears came to town. Orlando (like Fort Wayne) is a new franchise in the ECHL but the city had an IHL franchise in the 1990s also known as the Solar Bears. This was an emotional night for many Royals fans as former team captain Ryan Cruthers returned to Reading as an opponent. Ryan was dealt away at the trade deadline in March and signed with Orlando as a free agent over the summer. It was also the annual Teddy Bear Toss night for Toys For Tots. The Royals ran the winning streak to five on this night with a 5-3 win, Stanislav Galiev led the charge with three goals (including the "teddy bear" score). Yannick Tifu and Ian O'Connor also lit the lamp as Philipp Grubauer picked up another win. The club's record now stands at 18-7-1, after starting 1-5-1 the boys have won seventeen of their last nineteen. The Royals' next home game is on Friday the 21st as the Gwinnett Gladiators visit for a two-game set. Saw on the 'net where McCaskey defeated Reading High on Saturday night at McCaskey, that evens the record at 2-2 with league games coming this week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sunday was quiet at home with football on TV but the week will be busy with the aforementioned basketball and hockey schedule. Take care, thanks for reading.