October 30-31

Wednesday morning lunch in Quarryville with Jenny and her mother, in the afternoon Jamie Burkholder joined us for the drive to Berks County. The Greenville Road Warriors were making their lone Arena appearance of the season in a rematch from the first-round playoff series in the spring of 2013. The Royals wore special Halloween-flavored sweaters which were sold online after the game for charity. The club has struggled offensively thus far in the young season, that was in evidence once again on this night as Greenville left town with a 3-1 win. Brett Flemming scored the Royals' lone goal, Riley Gill took the tough-luck loss. The club's record drops to 2-3-0, in '12-13 the team started 1-5-1 so there is not necessarily any reason to panic but the offense certainly needs to pick up. The boys play in Wheeling on Friday the 1st before returning home for a date with Elmira on the 2nd. On Thursday Jenny was in town in the morning for an appointment, the access van brought her in and I took her home. The rest of the day was spent in the quiet of home since there were no street hockey games at the rink. Years ago we learned that trying to play on October 31 was pointless because of the inherent mischief associated with this particular date. It was all just as well, rain moved into the area in the evening and fell steadily for better than an hour. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 28-29

At the mall for lunch on Monday morning, after that I went to the rink for some cleanup duty. There were leaves on the surface from the weekend, nothing severe but I figured I'd get it over with and out of the way. We had four games on the schedule in the evening, two East/West crossovers from the original schedule and two Midwest makeups from October 10 (the day the monsoon ruined McCaskey's soccer game). The UniLords beat the Kings and Whitmoyer Auto defeated Dominion Pizza via shootout, in the Midwest the Killbots beat Yorgo's and the Dek Dawgs won over Brendee's. Don and Ron refereed, Wally ran the clock. Tuesday was the 29th day of the month, for the first time in three years we had good weather on this date. In 2011 a freak snowstorm dumped around six inches on us, in 2012 another storm system gave us three days of steady rain. No such worries on this occasion as we played three games in the Midwest division. Two of these were regularly-scheduled games that were rematches from the night before, the Killbots made it two straight over Yorgo's and Brendee's defeated the Dek Dawgs in a shootout. The last game saw the BallBlasters over the Misfits, they were rained out on October 10 as well but since Monday was already booked solid their rematch is on Wednesday. Ron worked with Derek on this night with Wally on the clock. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 25-27

Friday night at McCaskey for week #9 of the high school football season as the Red Tornado hosted Manheim Township. It's been a long year for JPM and on this night the pregame Senior Night activities were easily the highlight of the evening. Township scored early and often, extending a twenty-point first-quarter lead to 41-0 as halftime approached. McCaskey got on the board just before time expired on a La'Detrius Sibley touchdown pass to Brandon Allen. That would prove to be the last score of the game, the entire second half was played under the mercy rule as MT won it 41-6. Everybody knew going in that this season was going to a rebuilding effort but it's doubtful anyone could have predicted the level of adversity the club has gone through (case in point: Allen was the starting QB early on, Kyaire Bynum took over in midseason and Sibley inherited the job when Kyaire was lost to injury). The regular season wraps up on November 1 when JPM visits Lancaster Catholic in the annual City Showdown. On Saturday Jenny and her mother were along as the Royals hosted the Elmira Jackals. The boys won 3-1 in Elmira on Friday evening, on this night at the Santander Arena the Jackals returned the favor with a 3-1 win of their own. The lone Royals goal was scored by rookie Michal Cajkovsky, a native of Slovakia who played in the Ontario League in '12-13. Riley Gill took the loss after earning the Friday road win. The Royals play at home on the 30th against Greenville. After the busy weekend Sunday was the day of rest with pro football on TV. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 21-24

Jenny was in town on Monday, we saw each other and ran an errand during the lunch hour. There were street hockey games at the rink in the evening but I was at home in preparation for a medical procedure on Tuesday morning. It's one of those things a man my age goes through every few years, the last time for me was in 2010. On Tuesday I was at the hospital before 7:30, by 10:30 I was home. The doctor said everything looked good, he figured I won't need to be seen again for another five years. I guess at my age that's like being on an extended warranty. I had figured on sleeping off the anesthesia when I got home but I was alert enough that it didn't feel necessary. By mid-afternoon I called Ron to let him know I'd be at the rink in the evening, he was going to be there anyway to referee but at least he wouldn't have to worry about double duty. Three Midwest games were on the docket as Yorgo's beat the BallBlasters, the Dek Dawgs defeated the Misfits and the Killbots won over Brendee's. Derek worked with Ron, Wally ran the clock. On Wednesday I had a solid lunch for the first time since Sunday, in the evening we had two games at the rink. The weather turned chillier earlier in the week, on this night it was cold enough to warrant firing up the portable heater in the administration building. In a West/Midwest crossover the Kings beat Brendee's, Whitmoyer Auto beat Dominion Pizza in an East/West crossover. Ron refereed with Don, Devyn had clock duty. On Thursday daytime highs were only in the 40s, a sharp northwest wind made it feel even chillier. Jenny and I had lunch in Quarryville, in the evening we finished week #6 at the rink with three Midwest games. The BallBlasters won over Brendee's, the Killbots defeated the Dek Dawgs and Yorgo's beat the Misfits. Don and Derek refereed, Devyn ran the clock. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 19-20

Saturday lunch with the ladies in Quarryville, in late afternoon we headed north on 222 for the beginning of the Reading Royals' thirteenth year in the ECHL. The South Carolina Stingrays were the opponent for an opening-weekend doubleheader. The pregame ceremonies on Saturday night included the formal home-ice presentation of the Kelly Cup by ECHL commissioner emeritus Patrick Kelly (the man for whom it is named). The championship banner was brought onto the ice by members of the Junior Royals youth hockey program (coached by former Royal Ryan Cruthers), from there the returning members of the 2012-2013 team passed it on to members of the booster club. It finally found its way into the hands of the Santander Arena's operations crew who raised it to its position at the east end of the building. The momentum from the celebration carried over into the game as T.J. Syner scored early on to make it 1-0. The Stingrays took a 2-1 lead into the third period before newcomer Louie Caporusso (a third-year pro from the University of Michigan) knotted it at 2-2 and set the stage for overtime. In the OT the Royals played short-handed by two men for a full two minutes but were able to escape it, in the shootout the Royals outscored SC two goals to one to nail down a tough 3-2 win. Kelly Cup playoff MVP Riley Gill got the start in goal and earned the victory. On Sunday we were back for game #2, South Carolina turned the tables and left town with a 3-2 win in regulation time. Stanislav Galiev and David Marshall scored for the Royals, Brandon Anderson took the loss in net. The boys return to home ice on Saturday the 26th when the Elmira Jackals come to town. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 16-18

Wednesday morning in Quarryville with Jenny, we did out midweek lunch date a day early. In the evening we were at the soon-to-be Santander Arena for the Royals' annual meet-and-greet. This is always a popular attraction, it gives the fans a chance to meet the guys up-close and personal. Jenny looks forward to it every year as well, on this occasion she brought an autograph book since her jersey has three seasons worth of signatures already on it. Helen missed out on this in 2012 because of babysitting but she was able to come along this time. The Kelly Cup was in the house, fans were lined up to have a professional photo taken with it. On Thursday night we finished up week #5 of street hockey at Reservoir Park with three Midwest games. There was some brief rain about an hour before the games started but once we got underway there were no further issues. The Killbots beat the Misfits, Yorgo's won over Brendee's and the BallBlasters defeated the Dek Dawgs. Don and Derek officiated, Devyn ran the clock. Friday was a football night at McCaskey as the Red Tornado returned home after three weeks on the road to host Cedar Crest. It was (appropriately) Homecoming with all of the usual hoopla involved but on the field the result was unfortunately very familiar. JPM's last victory came in Week #8 of the 2012 season, a 42-41 win at Cedar Crest. On this night (week #8 of the 2013 season) JPM scored first on a Pedro Martinez TD run but Cedar Crest scored the next five touchdowns. Tyree Ballinger's scoring carry in the fourth quarter made it 35-14 but CC salted it away with another score to make the final 42-14. The loss is the eleventh straight for the program, the club plays at home on the 25th against Manheim Township before wrapping up the season at Lancaster Catholic on November 2nd. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 14-15

At the mall for lunch on Monday morning, later in the afternoon I was at McCaskey. The varsity soccer team was playing its make-up game from the Thursday rainout, the game was on the regular soccer field since the football field in the stadium was still recovering from the storm. They had asked me if I could handle their senior recognitions as planned, they had a portable PA system set up for that purpose. My evening's schedule precluded me from staying for the game itself but we got the pregame activities done which was all anyone really cared about. A lot of people in my position probably wouldn't have rolled out of bed to do that but I didn't mind because (a) the head coach used to play in the hockey league at Reservoir Park so I've known him for some time and (b) it was a big thing for the kids and that's what high school sports is all about. It was a lovely sunshiny kind of day, the kind of day we could have used on the 10th when all this was supposed to happen. At the rink in the evening we started week #5 of street hockey with two West/Midwest crossover games. The BallBlasters beat the Kings in OT shootout and the Killbots defeated Dominion Pizza. Don and Ron refereed, Wally ran the clock. On Tuesday we had a full night on the docket, in the East the UniLords beat Whitmoyer Auto via shootout. The Midwest games featured Yorgo's over the Dek Dawgs, Brendee's over the Misfits and the BallBlasters over the Killbots. Ron worked the entire night with Des, Wally was on the clock again. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 11-13

The hard rain was still around on Friday morning, Jenny was in Willow Street for a doctor's appointment. I met her there and took her home, along the way we saw a lot of flooding in low-laying areas (I had stuck to the main roads on the way to her appointment, several of the back roads I use were impassable). We had lunch together for a second straight day since she and her mother were coming back to the city with me. In the afternoon Marty joined us for the drive north to Reading as the Royals hosted the Wheeling Nailers in an exhibition game at the Sovereign Center. Since our building opened in 2001 it has been known by that name, recently the naming rights changed hands. When the regular season begins the facility officially becomes the Santander ("sahn-tahn-DAIR") Arena, after twelve years that will take some getting used to. The Royals have several players from the 2012-13 club listed on the training camp roster. That number includes team captain Yannick Tifu, Julien Cayer, T.J. Syner, Ian O'Connor, Brett Flemming, Bryant Molle, David Marshall, Ethan Cox and Stanislav Galiev plus goaltenders Riley Gill and Brandon Anderson. Not all were in uniform on this night as coach Larry Courville took the opportunity to give the newcomers a look. The Royals fell behind 1-0 in the second period but replied quickly on a score from Ryan Santana (rookie from Boston University). In the third period Ryan Kavanagh (a third-year pro who played in Germany in '12-13) found the net to make it 2-1, from there Riley Gill closed the door and picked up the win. The regular season begins at home on October 19 as the 2013 Kelly Cup championship banner is raised. There was still some rain in the area on the drive home, by Saturday morning it was just about all gone. In the afternoon I was at the Lancaster Ice Rink for a college game as Millersville hosted West Chester. The schools are roughly forty miles apart, over the years they have been fierce rivals in the athletic arena. Devyn did not play in this game, he suffered a muscle sprain earlier in the week and was not in uniform. MU led 2-1 in the third period before WCU rallied with three straight scores, a late rally fell short as the 'Ville lost 4-3. Sunday skies were bright and clear, with nothing special going on I stayed in and watched football all day. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 7-10

Strong winds and rainy conditions started the new week, I stopped by the rink on Monday morning before lunch. I wasn't surprised to see it leaf-covered, when the rain became steady in the afternoon it killed our chances of playing on Monday evening. On Tuesday it was much cooler and felt more like October, in the afternoon I put in an SOS call from the rink. One of the players owns a lawn care service, he was able to get away and help us out with his equipment to clear the leaves from the rink surface. Thanks to his invaluable assistance the evening's games went off without a hitch. In the East game Whitmoyer Auto beat Cat's Meow, in the Midwest Brendee's defeated the BallBlasters, the Killbots won over the Dek Dawgs and Yotgo's beat the Misfits. Don and Ron worked the entire evening with Wally manning the clock. On Wednesday we had two games, in the West Dominion Pizza beat the Kings and in the East Whitmoyer Auto defeated the UniLords. Ron refereed both games, the West with Derek and the East with Des (each man played in the opposite game). Devyn worked both games on the clock. Thursday was a "one for the books" day if there ever was one. Jon Mitchell (McCaskey athletic director) had asked me if I was available for this day, JPM's soccer team was playing its final home game. They usually play on a field adjacent to the football stadium, this game was to be played in the stadium because they were planning a senior recognition ceremony and wanted to use the PA facilities. Rain moved into the region overnight and was coming with a vengeance in the afternoon, I called the athletic office and learned that the game (scheduled for 6:00) was still on. The junior varsity game started at 4:00 and was played in a virtual monsoon, by the time it ended the field was a quagmire and it was still pouring. It was decided to postpone the varsity game so outside of a mic check ("test 1-2-3-4, a-b-c-d") I never said a word publicly the entire time I was there. I had let Don know I'd be at the rink when we were done at McCaskey but it was all irrelevant since the street hockey games were postponed as well. We got through three weeks of the season with no weather issues, in week #4 we lost two nights and five total games. As it happens we can work them into open spots so it won't hurt us in terms of extending the regular season. The rain is expected to stay around through the weekend as the storm system moves slowly up the coast. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 5-6

Saturday morning in Quarryville for lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the afternoon Jamie Burkholder joined us for the first pro hockey game of the new season. The Adirondack Phantoms were in Hershey as the opponent for the Bears' home opener. Between the summer-like weather and it being only the fifth day of the month it really didn't feel like hockey season but once you're in the arena and the game starts all the other stuff becomes immaterial. Bears/Phantoms games are always interesting for me, on the one hand I follow the Phantoms because they are affiliated with the NHL club I follow most closely. On the other hand the Bears are co-affiliated with the Royals and we all know how well that worked out in the 2012-13 season. Royals coach Larry Courville was in attendance, I had a chance to talk to him briefly before the game. Royals' training camp opened on Saturday morning in Reading, Larry was in Hershey to scout potential additions from the Bears. On this night there were eleven players on the Hershey roster not in uniform, it's entirely possible that a number of them may find their way east in the coming weeks. The Royals have twenty-seven players on their training camp roster so the competition for permanent spots will be intense. In the game itself the Phantoms rallied from a one-goal deficit in the third period to win in overtime 4-3. In recent years the Phantoms have had little success in Hershey, this was the first time I witnessed a Phantoms win there since March of 2010. We'll be in Hershey twice more this season but not again until December. Sunday was the proverbial day of rest with pro football and playoff baseball on TV wall-to-wall. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 4

The uncommonly warm weather continues, on Friday evening I was at Rossmere Stadium for a second consecutive week. I started doing LCHS games in 1996, at that time all of McCaskey's games were on Saturdays so there was never a conflict. When lights were added at McCaskey Stadium in '99 the dynamic changed, as a McCaskey alum I'm always there first. On this night at Rossmere the Crusaders defeated Warwick 42-21 in a game much closer and competitive than the final score would indicate. It was 28-14 at the half, Warwick made it a one-score game in the third quarter before LCHS pulled away. The Crusaders scored three rushing touchdowns all courtesy of Nassir Weaver, Evan Purvis threw TD passes to Charles Scarff, Rafael Mateo and Harrison Heise (as placekicker Purvis was also six-for-six on extra points). The win pulls LCHS even overall at 3-3, 3-0 within the division. The Crusaders' next home game is on the 18th, I'll be absent because JPM is at home that night as well. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 1-3

The new month brought a major change in the weather, the first few days of October felt more like July. On Tuesday evening we played three Midwest games at the rink, there was no East game since they and the West are in a crossover portion of the schedule. The BallBlasters beat the Dek Dawgs, Yorgo's beat Brendee's via shootout and the Killbots beat the Misfits. Don and Derek officiated, Wally ran the clock. Wednesday night featured two East/West games as the UniLords won over Dominion Pizza and Whitmoyer Auto beat the Kings. Ron and Don refereed, Wally and Devyn split clock duty. On Thursday I made my usual morning drive south to see Jenny and have lunch with her, in the evening we wrapped up week #3 at the rink with three Midwest games. The first two were decided in shootout, the Killbots over Brendee's and the BallBlasters over Yorgo's. The night's final game saw the Misfits defeat the Dek Dawgs. Don and Derek refereed with Devyn on the clock. Three weeks in the books with no postponements but that run might be in jeopardy, the forecast of the early part of the new week doesn't sound encouraging. Take care, thanks for reading.