December 15

The snow on Saturday was followed by a round of freezing rain later in the evening but by Sunday morning it was long gone and there was brilliant sunshine. I cleaned the snow from my car in anticipation of the afternoon drive, by 12:30 departure time the remnants had melted completely. The roads south of town were in good shape, getting to Jenny's place was no trouble at all (it's always a concern because the southern part of the county is largely rural). We allowed extra time for the drive to Reading but had no issues there as well, we actually arrived at the arena a little earlier that usual. This was the Royals' annual Teddy Bear Toss game for Toys For Tots, the team also wore specialty jerseys in the spirit of the "ugly holiday sweater". These had to be seen to be believed, they were red trimmed in green and white with images of reindeer and snowflakes. They were indeed hideously ugly but that was the point, after the game the jerseys were sold online for charity. The game (rescheduled from the night before because of the snowstorm) started at 5:05, the Royals trailed Elmira 1-0 before Ryan Cruthers scored the "teddy bear goal" to tie it. The Jackals took a 2-1 lead in the second period, Yannick Tifu replied to knot it at 2-2. Moments later Elmira retook the lead and made it stand up as the Royals winless streak was extended to five games (including four at home). The loss drops the club's record to 10-9-1, just 5-7-0 at home. The next home game is on Friday the 27th as the Kalamazoo Wings visit for a two-game set. Take care, thanks for reading.