February 27-28

Wednesday morning in Quarryville with Jenny, we usually have lunch together on Thursday but she had asked if we could do it a day earlier. In the evening there were pro hockey games on TV, former Royals goalie Philipp Grubauer was recalled from the AHL and made his major league debut for the Washington Capitals. On Thursday we wrapped up the month with a bus trip east to Garden Spot HS in Hew Holland, the site of the district third-place game against Wilson. The boys rebounded from the Tuesday semifinal loss with a 74-69 win. Five players hit double figures for JPM: Keyon Cowan 17, Devonne Pinkard 15, Sha-ki Staten 14, Luis Fuentes 13 and Diante Cherry 12. We had another Mid-Penn crew officiating the game but this group was nowhere near as intrusive as Tuesday's had been in Hershey. McCaskey will enter the state tournament with a 26-3 record and as the #3 seed from our district, the first game is on Saturday the 9th. The first three rounds of the tournament are on dates the Royals are at home, unless the club makes it to the fourth round I have undoubtedly worked my final game for the season. Of the twenty-nine games played thus far I worked all but seven, those absences were all due to the professional commitments in Reading. The Royals are on the road until Friday the 8th, that is the next major event on the calendar. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 26

Rain moved into the area on Tuesday afternoon, it provided the perfect backdrop for the gloom of the evening's basketball game in Hershey. After twenty-five consecutive wins the Red Tornado fell in the district semifinals as York won 81-76. The game was officiated by a crew from the Mid-Penn Conference (Harrisburg and environs), over the years Mid-Penn crews have garnered a reputation for insinuating themselves into games more than necessary (witness our game in Harrisburg on December 8). On this night in Hershey there were over 4000 fans in attendance to see what should have been a great game between two of the best teams in the district, what they got was a whistle-fest. In thirty-two minutes of play there were forty-eight fouls called (one every forty seconds, way too many) and sixty-four foul shots attempted. It's often been said that the best games are those in which the referees are barely noticed, this was definitely not the case on this night. Both teams were angered by the officiating, in the end York was less upset only because they managed to win the game. The loss places JPM in the third-place game on Thursday the 28th against Wilson HS, they lost to Harrisburg in the other semifinal. The boys will be in the state tournament on March 9 as either the #3 or #4 seed from our district, that will be determined by Thursday's result. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 24-25

Sunday afternoon hockey at the Sovereign Center as the Royals hosted Trenton in the back end of a home-and-home. Sometimes things happen in sports that are hard to fathom yet they are so incredible no one could possibly make them up. In recent days the Royals' goaltending has been in a state of flux, between injuries and reassignments the club found itself with Brandon Anderson as its only available goalie for the Thursday game against Kalamazoo.. A youngster named Corey Milan was signed as his backup, he was also in uniform for the Royals' Saturday loss in Trenton. On Saturday night in Hershey Dany Sabourin (Bears' backup goalie) was injured while sitting on the bench, he was struck in the forehead by an errant puck. With a game of their own scheduled for Sunday the Bears recalled Anderson from the Royals to back up Philipp Grubauer. Royals coach Larry Courville made an SOS phone call to old friend and former teammate Frederic Cassivi, they were together in the AHL with Syracuse in the mid 90s and Hershey in the early 2000s. Cassivi has been retired since 2010, he's been living in the Hershey area and works as a financial adviser for a local banking institution. On this day at the Sovereign Center he was the starting goaltender for the Royals, making his ECHL "debut" at the age of 37. The Royals lost to Trenton 5-3 but it was in no way Cassivi's fault, under the circumstances he gave the club all that was expected and more. Stanislav Galiev, Joel Champagne and newcomer Jeff Corey scored for the Royals, Corey is an ex-Royal who played in Reading back in '08-09. The loss drops the club's mark to 35-16-6, the boys play their next three on the road before returning to the SC on March 8th. Not much happening on Monday save for morning lunch at the mall, with spring training baseball on TV from Florida and hockey in the evening there were plenty of viewing options. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 23

It was misty and foggy on Saturday morning, at 9:15 we left from McCaskey for the drive to the Giant Center in Hershey. Every year the district quarterfinal games involving the top three seeds are played in Hershey, we were in the quarterfinals in 2012 but we were in the #4 game which was played elsewhere. This was our program's first appearance at the Giant Center since the quarterfinals in 2007. The coaching staff had been there before, I had been there before but for our players it was a whole new thing. If there were any pregame jitters they disappeared quickly as the boys ran out to a quick 10-0 lead and were never headed as they defeated Reading HS 89-66. All five starters hit double figures: Devonne Pinkard 22, Aaron Swinton 18, Sha-ki Staten and Keyon Cowan 14 each and Diante Cherry 10. The win puts the club into the semifinals on Tuesday the 26th in Hershey, the game will feature another regular-season rematch as we'll meet York for the second time this season. We beat York in our holiday tournament but December victories mean nothing in February. A win would put us in the district title game on March 2nd, a loss would consign us to the third-place game on the 28th. We got back to town around 3:30 or so, I grabbed a quick shower and headed to Quarryville for Jenny and her mother. From there we made our way back onto route 283 and the return trip to Hershey for the evening hockey game as the Hershey Bears hosted the Adirondack Phantoms. As a Flyers fan I've always followed the Phantoms because they are the Flyers' AHL affiliate. On the other hand I never cared one way or another about Hershey but now that the Bears and Royals are co-affiliated I view Hershey in a somewhat different light. On this night the Bears' roster featured eight players who have also appeared in the ECHL for the Royals. The only ex-Royal who played a major role in this game was goaltender Philipp Grubauer who earned his first AHL shutout in a 3-0 Hershey victory. The Phantoms return for the second of their two visits on March 17, we'll be there as well. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 21-22

Thursday morning in Quarryville with Jenny and her mother, we did our usual lunch at the downtown pizza parlor. In the afternoon we headed north on 222 for a rare Thursday night home game at the Sovereign Center. This was the first of just two of these on the season, the other is scheduled for March 28. The Kalamazoo Wings were back in town for the second of their two visits, the Royals completed a season sweep of the K-Wings with a 3-1 win. K-Zoo took a 1-0 lead in the second period before Nikita Kashirsky evened it up. In the third period Kashirsky took a shot that appeared to enter the net, David Vallorani stayed with it and potted the rebound to give the Royals the lead. In the closing minutes Kashirsky scored again to provide the final margin. After the game the video was reviewed and it was determined that Kashirsky's no-goal had in fact entered the net, he was given credit for a hat-trick after the fact. Brandon Anderson returned from injury and picked up the win in goal. The victory ups the club's mark to 35-14-6 (22-5-1 at home), the boys play in Trenton on Saturday the 23rd before hosting the Titans in the back end of the home-and-home on Sunday the 24th. Friday was a quiet, nothing-happening day but with a busy weekend on tap that wasn't a bad thing. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 17-20

Nothing special going over the last few days, for the most part the weather has been bitter cold and windy. On Wednesday night at McCaskey the district tournament got underway as the Red Tornado hosted Central Dauphin. CD was seeded at #18 in the field of twenty, they defeated the #15 seed in a preliminary game to earn the right to meet us in the official first round. We came in as the #2 seed but anyone can tell you that the seeding means nothing, you still have to play the game, On this night JPM advanced to the quarterfinals with a convincing 81-51 win. The boys led by nine at the quarter and thirteen at halftime, in the third quarter they lengthened the margin to eighteen and took it home from there. Sha-ki Staten led with 19, Devonne Pinkard had 16, Diante Cherry added 14 and Keyon Cowan scored 12. The boys will play on Saturday the 23rd at the Giant Center in Hershey, the opponent will be a familiar one as Reading HS advanced into the quarterfinals on our side of the bracket. JPM beat Reading back in December but that means nothing at this point. Traditionally the "big" district games are played in Hershey, this will mark the first time for JPM in the big arena since the quarterfinal round in 2007. The boys are guaranteed at least one more game beyond Saturday, that would be the semifinals in Hershey on Tuesday the 26th if they win or a consolation round playback game elsewhere if they lose. Saturday will be a busy day, after we return to Lancaster from the basketball game the ladies and I will be headed right back to Hershey for the evening's hockey game as the Hershey Bears (the Royals' "big brothers") host the Adirondack Phantoms (the Flyers' AHL club). Take care, thanks for reading.

February 16

Saturday night hockey at the Sovereign Center as the Royals hosted the Elmira Jackals for the third game of the week's miniseries. This was the annual "Pink In The Rink" game for breast cancer awareness, it was started some years ago and is always well-received. Jenny's mother Helen is a survivor so it's a cause very dear to her for the obvious reasons. After starting the season 1-5-1 in October the Royals played at a 22-2-1 clip for the rest of the calendar year, thus far in 2013 the club's mark is 10-7-4 (pedestrian by comparison but that November-December pace would be impossible for any team to sustain). The boys lost to Elmira at home on Wednesday and on the road on Friday, on this night in Reading they got back on the winning side with a rugged 4-3 verdict. Ian O'Connor scored twice for the Royals, Yannick Tifu and Stanislav Galiev (the game-winner) added single tallies. Sergey Kostenko picked up the win in goal after taking the loss on Friday. Between injuries and ineffectiveness Kostenko has been #3 on the depth chart most of the season, with Drew MacIntyre currently in the AHL and Brandon Anderson nursing an injury of his own Kostenko was the main man on this night and he acquitted himself well. The win improves the Royals' record to 34-14-6 (21-5-1 at home), the boys are off until Thursday the 21st when the Kalamazoo Wings visit. The next major event on the calendar comes on Wednesday the 20th, McCaskey opens district tournament play at home against Central Dauphin. CD went 9-13 during the regular year and won a qualifying game to make the field, as the #2 seed in the tournament JPM should be the favorite but history is littered with first-round upsets so nothing is for sure. If we win the second round is on the 23rd in Hershey but we have to get there first. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 15

Felt better on Friday morning after an earlier-than-usual bedtime on Thursday night. In the afternoon we boarded the bus at McCaskey for the drive to Manheim Township HS and the league championship game. After surviving a four-team logjam and finishing second in our division Cedar Crest battled through two tough playoff wins and earned the right to play us for the league title. It had the makings of a wonderful Cinderella story and on this night in Neffsville it looked for a while like a real possibility. For most of the first half CC controlled the tempo, at halftime we were down 23-21. Maybe our guys thought it would be easy money after beating them twice during the regular season, for whatever reason we were clearly not at our best. Coach Powell lit a fire under the team in the locker room at halftime, after the break we outscored them 41-18 and took it going away 62-41. Diante Cherry led with 17 (12 in the second half), Keyon Cowan had 12 (ten after the break), Sha-ki Staten added 10, Aaron Swinton and Devonne Pinkard had eight apiece. In forty-one years of league play the program has been to the playoffs 27 times, this year on the strength of our 18th division title. The league championship is our 13th in twenty-two title game appearances and the eighth in thirteen tries during Coach Powell's tenure. The overall record improves to 23-2 but that means little at this point because the next item on the agenda is a first-round district game in the land of "win and go on or lose and go home", that game is at home on Wednesday the 20th. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 13-14

Came down with a scratchy throat overnight into Wednesday, for a while I wondered if I'd be able to work the Royals game in the evening. It was a struggle (I was far below 100%) but I managed to muddle through. The Elmira Jackals were the opponent, on the way down Interstate 81 their bus had a flat tire. The game ended up being delayed until 7:30 and didn't wind down until almost 9:50, the Royals lost 5-3. David Vallorani, Stanislav Galiev and Nikita Kashirshy lit the lamp, Brandon Anderson took the loss in goal. The clubs meet on Friday night in Elmira before returning for another head-to-head meeting at the SC on Saturday (that's our annual Pink In The Rink game). There was one bit of good news on the night as McCaskey defeated Donegal in the league semifinals. The 72-65 win sets up a championship date with Cedar Crest, the second-place finisher in our division. We played CC twice during the regular year and won both but the playoffs are a whole different animal. Went south on Thursday morning to see Jenny on Valentine's Day, the rest of the day was spent at home in the warmth with medicines in hand. I was feeling better as the night went on, hopefully all that's needed is a good solid night's sleep (something I did not get on Wednesday night). Take care, thanks for reading.

February 11-12

Monday morning at the mall for lunch, in the evening it was a basketball night at JPM as the Red Tornado hosted Lancaster Mennonite. The LL league playoffs can be a bit of a oddity, unlike the regular season it's not unusual to see schools of drastically different enrollment levels play each other. On this night at McCaskey the game was virtually over from the get-go as the Red Tornado won it 105-68, this was the first time the club hit the century mark this season. We were ahead by eighteen at the quarter, twenty-four at the half and thirty-three at the end of the third, the mercy rule kicked in with four minutes remaining. Five players hit double figures for JPM: Sha-ki Staten 22, Keyon Cowan 21, Devonne Pinkard 18, Aaron Swinton 14 and Luis Fuentes 11. The win is the twenty-first for the club and sets up an intriguing semifinal game on Wednesday the 13th. The boys will meet Section III champion Donegal, they are currently undefeated on the year at 23-0. Critics would say that they haven't faced the caliber of competition we have (and maybe that's true) but an unbeaten record must be respected no matter who it is. It should be a hell of a test but unfortunately I will miss it as the Royals are at home that night. Not much happening on Tuesday, in the afternoon I went over to practice to give the scorebook to the coaches for Wednesday night since I'll be absent. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 10

Up and at it early on Sunday morning as we returned to the Sovereign Center for the first time in February. The first order of business on this day was the annual Battle Of The Badges fundraiser game featuring the Reading Fire and Police Departments. This series started in 2006 and has become very popular over the years. The Fire Department held a 5-1-1 series advantage but on this day the Police had the better of it with a 6-2 victory. The game started shortly after 12:30 and ended around 2:15, at 4:05 the Royals took the ice against the Kalamazoo Wings. The club went 2-2-1 on the road trip, after a Friday game in Trenton and a Saturday date in Wheeling one had to wonder how much gas was in the tank for this game. It was a tie score midway through the third period before the Royals broke it open and won it going away 5-2. Stanislav Galiev scored twice (including the game-winner) as Nikita Kashirsky, Ian O'Connor and David Marshall hit the net once each. Drew MacIntyre was the winning goaltender. The victory was the twentieth on home ice for the Royals and ups the season record to 33-12-6. The K-Wings were the last of our opponents to visit the SC this year, they'll be back on February 21. In the meantime the Royals will gear up for a three-game miniseries with the Elmira Jackals, games in Reading on Wednesday and Saturday sandwiched around a Friday date in New York State. If Royals-Jackals history is any indicator it will not be dull. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 6-9

Wednesday evening at the Lancaster Ice Rink for high school hockey. Don Tankesley's son Devyn is a senior at Hempfield, this was the final game of his high school career. Over the last few seasons I've tried to get to his games whenever I could but the opportunities tended to be few and far between. Shortly after I arrived I was approached by a Hempfield parent who is familiar with my work. He said that the volunteer who was supposed to do the PA wasn't coming and asked if I could step in. Since this was Hempfield's final "home" game it was also their Senior Night, before the game we had a brief ceremony not unlike McCaskey's on Tuesday. There were five seniors on the roster (a young lady named Caitlin among them), as they were introduced they entered the ice from the locker room and met their parents at the bench area. This was the first time I ever worked in that building in any capacity but I wasn't too far out of my element, the setup at the penalty bench was not unlike what I'm accustomed to at the Sovereign Center. The biggest difference was that it was much smaller and directly against the wall, all the seating is on the opposite side of the building. In the game itself Elizabethtown defeated Hempfield 7-5, Devyn scored four goals and assisted on the one he didn't. A nice sidelight came on the final goal he scored as Caitlin was credited with an assist, I was told it was her first scoring point in her two years on the squad. Deyvn is planning to attend college and continue playing hockey, Don said he wants to stay close to home so we'll see what develops. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were very slow, on Friday evening we had some snow and rain but nothing too terribly severe. The coming days will be somewhat busier, the Royals return home on Sunday from a five-game road trip and will stay in town for games on Wednesday and Saturday. JPM starts league playoffs on Monday, with good fortune they may play Wednesday and Friday as well. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 5

The overnight precipitation never materialized but later in the afternoon we had some brief snow and sleet. At McCaskey in the evening for the final regular season home game as the Red Tornado hosted Hempfield. Before the varsity game we did the requisite Senior Night recognition, it took a little longer than usual since we have ten seniors on the roster. The junior varsity squad completed its season with a 68-38 win, after starting 0-2 in the non-league schedule they reeled off seventeen straight victories and finished undefeated in league play for a second consecutive year. The varsity team has followed a parallel route, after starting 0-2 as well they completed an undefeated league season of their own with an 84-55 victory to up the overall mark to 20-2. Keyon Cowan led with 20, Devonne Pinkard had 16 and Luis Fuentes added 12 in a reserve role. A milestone was reached by an opposing player on this night as Hempfield senior Drew Johnson scored his 1000th career point late in the game, as it was announced to the crowd he received congratulations from our players and coaches as well as his own. League playoffs begin on Monday the 11th, as a division champion we will host a quarterfinal game. Our opponent will be Lancaster Mennonite, the second-place finisher from LL Section IV. As one of the league's smaller schools LM is a very infrequent opponent, the last time we played them was in the league playoffs in '06. If we win on Monday the next game would be Wednesday the 13th, I would be out of the mix because the Royals are at home that night. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 1-4

The second month of 2013 started chilly and windy, on Friday afternoon we met up at McCaskey for the final bus ride of the regular season. This was the annual unloved visit to Cedar Crest HS in Lebanon County, a mere twenty-fives north of Lancaster on mostly two-lane road. When the league started in '72 Cedar Crest played their games in a gym so small, cramped and uncomfortable the mice were hunchbacked. Their current facility opened in 1996 but games there are still a battle. On this night the JV game almost became one literally, it was testy from start to finish. JPM won it 47-45 to stay unbeaten in league play, the loss for CC was their third overall on the season (two of them to McCaskey). In the varsity game the Red Tornado led by five at the quarter and fourteen at halftime, the final was 81-65. Four of the five starters hit double figures as Sha-ki Staten led with 18, Aaron Swinton had 17, Devonne Pinkard 14 and Keyon Cowan 12 (Diante Cherry just missed with nine). The club's mark moves to 19-2 overall, the boys finish the regular season at home against Hempfield on February 5. League playoffs start on the 11th, as division champion JPM will host a quarterfinal round game. On Saturday we did our usual visit with Jenny, the rest of the day was quiet which was just as well: it began to snow in the late afternoon, by evening there was a coating on the ground. Brilliant sunshine on Sunday helped with the melting process but there was no reason to leave the house, there was a hockey game on TV in the afternoon and the NFL championship game in the evening. For the first time in several years a team I follow was playing for the title. As a youngster my sports allegiances developed around the teams I saw play most often on television, in my area that was Philadelphia and Baltimore. On February 3, 2013 the Baltimore Ravens won the NFL championship 34-31 over the San Francisco 49ers in a game played by two teams that richly deserved to be there. On Monday the morning visit to the mall for lunch was about all that happened. Snow is in the forecast for overnight into Tuesday. Take care, thanks for reading.