April 28-30

Over the weekend we heard reports of a weather system in the south that was supposed to move our way in mid-week, it arrived early on Monday evening. We got started at the rink at 6:15, light rain began to fall during the first game. It was never severe enough to threaten play, it was just enough to be a annoying nuisance. In the night's East game the Sandbaggers beat 915 Cafe, in the West it was the Misfits over the BallBlasters and Brendee's over JBE Auto Transport In the lone crossover McCleary's Pub defeated the Brasserie. Don refereed the first two games with Derek and the last two with Ron, Devyn ran the clock for three games and Wally worked one game while Devyn played. On Tuesday and Wednesday the morning errand runs were all that happened, thanks to the weather Wednesday's in particular was no fun at all. The rain varied in intensity but it never really let up, both night's games were postponed. When we drew the schedule for this season it was decided to leave Thursdays open for makeup dates, thus far we've had four nights postponed (three in full and one partial). We've already used April 24, there are makeups booked on May 1 plus the 8th and 15th as a result of the most recent postponements. There are going to be a lot of teams playing three-game weeks but there is little alternative. On the bright side the forecast looks better for Thursday so maybe we can avoid having to schedule makeups of makeups. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 23-27

Let's get the bad news out of the way first: the Royals' hockey season is over. The boys went to Fort Wayne with a 1-1 series tie and lost all three games, the final defeat coming in double-overtime on Sunday evening. Credit must be given where it is due, the Fort Wayne Komets were a #8 seed in name only. In the five games the Royals scored just eight goals, two of those were empty-netters. The Ks underwent a roster makeover down the stretch and it all jelled together at the right time. The ECHL hasn't had a repeat champion in twenty years and maybe there's a reason why. Just winning a title is tough enough, successfully defending it especially at the minor-pro level is exponentially more difficult. 2014 was ultimately not the Royals' year but what happened in '13 is indelible and cannot be changed. We'll see what happens when the '14-15 season starts in October. On Wednesday we returned to Reservoir Park as the street hockey week continued with three games. In crossover action Dominion Pizza defeated Brendee's and 915 Cafe downed the Misfits, in the night's West game JBE Auto Transport beat McCleary's Pub. The week wrapped up on Thursday with the makeup games rescheduled from Tuesday the 15th, we had one East game, two Wests and a crossover. In that order the Sandbaggers beat Dominion Pizza, the Misfits defeated McCleary's Pub and the BallBlasters vanquished the Underdogs. The crossover game saw 915 Cafe over JBE Auto Transport. Week #3 gets underway on Monday and believe it or not they are calling for an all-day rain on Tuesday. The weekend was quiet outside of a Saturday visit with Jenny and keeping tabs with the Royals in Indiana. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 21-22

Monday morning lunch at the mall, in the evening we were at the rink for the start of week #2. There were four games on the docket, three crossovers and one West game. In the crossovers the Sandbaggers beat McCleary's Pub, the Misfits downed the Brasserie and the Kings defeated the Underdogs. In the West game JBE Auto Transport beat the BallBlasters. Don and Ron officiated, Devyn ran the clock. On Tuesday there was rain forecast, we had showers in the morning. In the afternoon the sun came out and things dried off but there was another line of showers coming from the northwest. We got underway at 6:15 with the idea of playing as far as we could, as it happened the first game was the only one. The rain arrived during the second period, we actually stopped for lightning at one point. During the delay we called the remaining three games, they were rescheduled for May 1. Once we resumed Brendee's defeated the BallBlasters in a West game, Don and Ron refereed with Devyn on the clock once again. We were done by 7:30, as I was coming home the rain was just about over and a brilliant rainbow was visible to the south. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 19-20

Saturday lunch as usual with Jenny and her mother, in the afternoon Jamie Burkholder joined us for the drive to downtown Reading. The Royals hosted Fort Wayne in a game that was a classic example of what makes playoff hockey so unique. It was enough to tear your nerves to shreds and it damn near succeeded. After the lackluster effort in game #1 the Royals were very spirited early on, Sean Wiles lit the lamp nine minutes in to make it 1-0. In the late going of the first period the Komets tied the score at 1-1, it stayed that way until just under five minutes remained in regulation time when Brandon Blandina gave the Royals the lead. In the final moments Fort Wayne pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, Josh Brittain's empty-netter with just over a minute to go made it 3-1. That should have ended it but the Ks just wouldn't quit, they scored twenty seconds later to get back within one. As the clock ticked down the Komets kept the pressure on but with five seconds left and the goalie out Kevin Walrod's empty-netter closed the book as the Royals picked up the crucial 4-2 victory. Riley Gill got the start and win as the Royals tie the series at a game apiece, the next three are in Fort Wayne on Thursday, Friday and Sunday with a possible return to Reading on the 29th and 30th. Sunday was typically slow and uneventful as Sundays usually are, unless it would be a game day somewhere there is rarely anything going on. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 17-18

Thursday afternoon on the road north to Berks County for playoff hockey at the Santander Arena. The Royals hosted the Fort Wayne Komets in game #1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The club did not have any Thursday home dates during the regular season, Jenny and Helen did not make the trip because Friday mornings are generally an early wakeup call for them. A night that began with great anticipation ended in stunning fashion as the Royals lost in the final seconds of regulation 2-1. Josh Brittain got the Royals on the board in the first period but for whatever reason the club looked out of sync just about all night long. The Komets took advantage of a defensive lapse to tie the game in the second period, in the dying seconds of regulation play the Ks got a break into the offensive zone and scored the winning goal with eight seconds remaining on the clock. It appeared that a Fort Wayne player got away with a penalty that led to the winning score, the Royals and the fans were outraged but the protests went for naught. The shocking loss puts the Royals in a 1-0 hole in the best-of-seven series and sets up a virtual must-win game on Saturday at the Arena. The middle three games are in Fort Wayne, the Royals do not want to go there down 0-2 (1-1 would be tough enough). The only good thing that came out of the evening for me was the opportunity to renew acquaintances with legendary Fort Wayne radio broadcaster Bob Chase. Mr. Chase has been involved with Komet hockey since 1953, he is 88 years of age and still going strong. I first met him in December of 2012 when the Ks first played in Reading, when they visited this season he was absent. His substitute that night told me that Bob didn't do many road games anymore but now that it's playoff time he is obviously present and accounted for. I must say I was glad to see him again, he is a true giant in the business and Fort Wayne hockey wouldn't be the same without him. Friday was a day of little activity, outside of lunch and seeing Jenny over her break time there was nothing of note. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 16

The rain moved out overnight and took the warm temperatures with it, it was downright chilly on Wednesday morning. Jenny was in Willow Street for a morning foot doctor appointment, the access van took her there. Sometimes the doctor will see her ahead of her appointment time if the van has her there early and they are not busy. She was scheduled for 11:00, she was done by 8:05 (!!!!!). She called me as planned, I took her home and we did our weekday lunch a day early. In the evening we were at the rink for the second night of street hockey season. The three teams that didn't play on Monday made their debuts as we played three games (one East, one West and one crossover). In the East game the Brasserie beat the Kings, in the West the Underdogs defeated Brendee's and the night finished with 915 Cafe over McCleary's Pub in the crossover game. Don and Ron refereed, Wally ran the clock. With no games scheduled for Thursday that wraps the season's first week, we'll be back there on Monday the 21st. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 14-15

It was uncommonly warm over the weekend, the higher temperatures were still with us on Monday. In the evening we were at Reservoir Park for opening night of the Spring street hockey season. Eight of our eleven teams were in action, we got underway at 6:15. We had eleven teams in the Fall 2013 league as well but the alignment is different in the Spring: two teams from the Fall dropped out, two new teams entered and some of the holdovers have new identities. All four of the games on this night were crossovers between East and West which was completely coincidental, there is no hard pattern to the schedule. Over the first five weeks everybody plays everyone else once, the final three weeks of play are strictly divisional. The East team won three of the four games as the Union Station Kings defeated Brendee's, the Sandbaggers beat the Misfits and Dominion Pizza won over the BallBlasters. The West got into the win column in the night's final game when JBE Auto Transport defeated the Brasserie. Don and Ron officiated, Wally ran the clock. We were done shortly before 10:00, if all our four-game nights go that well I won't complain at all. Rain moved into the area overnight into Tuesday, the entire day was a washout. In the afternoon the rain stopped and the sun came out briefly but it was just a tease, by late afternoon the rain was back and stayed into late evening. We had four games on the schedule but they were postponed until Thursday the 24th. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 7-13

The past week was largely uneventful but business will be picking up shortly. On Tuesday Don and I firmed up the street hockey league's format. We'll have eleven teams in two divisions, five in the East and six in the West. Everybody plays sixteen games, one against each team from the other division and the remaining games against divisional opponents. We'll play four games on Mondays and Tuesdays and three on Wednesdays, Thursdays will be open for use as makeup dates as needed. On Sunday we had a work party at the rink, we repositioned the surface (it had moved out of alignment) and fixed some other items as well. The league starts on Monday the 14th, the last scheduled regular-season date is June 4th. On Friday evening McCaskey's baseball team played at home, I was there to work the PA. Most of their games are played after school at 4:15 but occasionally they play under the lights. One of the teachers usually does the PA but he couldn't make this game, Jon Mitchell contacted me and asked if I could help out. The baseball field at McCaskey is adjacent to the football stadium, the second floor of the concession stand serves as the press box for baseball. There was rain off-and-on all night long but the game proceeded uninterrupted, JPM won it in walk-off fashion 4-3. The win snapped a five-game losing streak so at least I can say I brought the team some luck. The Royals finished their regular season on Saturday night, they went 1-1-1 on the road trip. The final record: 46-22-4 and the #1 seed in the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The boys meet the Fort Wayne Komets in the first playoff round, the series starts at the Arena with the first two games on the 17th and 19th. The middle three games are in Indiana, the final two if needed would be back in Reading on April 29 and 30. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 4-6

It was still rainy and chilly on Friday, in the afternoon we were on the road to Berks County for a momentous weekend of ice hockey at the Santander Arena. These were the final two home games of the regular season as the Kalamazoo Wings were in town for a crucial two-game set, the Royals met the challenge and wrapped up the conference title in the bargain. In the Friday game the K-Wings took a quick 2-0 lead but the Royals replied in kind. Yannick Tifu and Domenic Monardo scored twenty-three seconds apart to tie it, Greg Wolfe's goal made it 3-2 Royals after one period. Early in the second the Wings tied it but again the Royals had a rapid response as Ryan Cruthers and Marvin Degon lit the lamp to make it 5-3. K-Zoo got one back in the third but down the stretch Brandon Anderson and the defense corps held the fort as the Royals earned the tough 5-4 victory. On Saturday night in game #2 it was the Royals who scored first as Marvin Degon found the net in the first period, Mike Banwell's marker in the second made it 2-0. The Wings got on the board midway through the period but would not get even as the Royals finished the sweep with the 2-1 victory. Riley Gill started in goal but was shaken up late in the first period, Brandon Anderson played the final two periods and picked up the win. The weekend sweep clinches first place in the conference and the #1 seed in the Kelly Cup playoffs, the second consecutive year the team has achieved that distinction. The club finishes with a mark of 24-10-2 on home ice (they went 11-0-1 in the final twelve), with three games remaining on the road the overall record stands at 45-21-3. After the game on Saturday the annual player awards were presented: Mike Banwell won the Scrapper of the Year Award, Brandon Blandina received the Heart Award and Ethan Cox was named Unsung Hero. Matt Campanele won the team's Ironman Award, Ryan Cruthers was the top Offensive Player and Bryant Molle won Defensive Player honors. Yannick Tifu won Fan's Choice as most popular player, Domenic Monardo was the club's top rookie and Brett Flemming was named team MVP (the first time in club history a defenseman has won that award). As it stands right now the playoffs begin at the Arena on April 17, game #2 of that first-round series is on the 19th. Who the Royals may play is anyone's guess, that will be determined over the final week of the season. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 1-3

The fourth month of the year began on a sunshiny Tuesday, Jenny was still with us while her mother was in New Jersey. On Wednesday it was rainy in the morning which provided the perfect bookend for Helen's return trip since Sunday had been a lousy weather day as well. Jenny and I were at the mall when the call came that Helen's train had arrived, she was due in at 12:05 and we were at the station by 12:30 to get her. Later in the afternoon Jamie Burkholder joined us for the drive north as the Royals hosted the Orlando Solar Bears. The regular season is heading down the home stretch, with six games remaining on the schedule every night is a big one. This was the first of two meetings between the Solar Bears and the Royals this season, the other is in Orlando on April 12. You might not expect the "hate" factor between two infrequent opponents to be that high but this was a rugged game. The Solar Bears took the lead in the first period and extended the lead to 2-0 in the second. From there it was all Royals emphatically and without question. In the latter moments of the period newcomer Greg Wolfe (recently added from Michigan State University) netted his first goal as a pro to get the Royals on the board at 2-1. As the third period started the Royals took command quickly, thirty-four seconds in Matt Campanele knotted it at 2-2. Just over a minute later Kevin Walrod scored to give the Royals the lead, two minutes after that Wolfe struck again to make it 4-2. Walrod's second goal of the night extended the lead, T.J. Syner's late-game score closed it out as the Royals won it 6-2. Riley Gill picked up the win in net and the game's #3 star, Wolfe and Walrod (former MSU teammates from 2010-2013) were #2 and #1 respectively. The Royals finish the home portion of the regular season with a back-to-back against Kalamazoo on Friday and Saturday. After three nights away from home Jenny and Helen had the pleasure of sleeping in their own beds, on Thursday we had our usual lunch date in Quarryville. That was the extent of the day's activities which was just as well, the rain returned in late afternoon and continued into the evening. Take care, thanks for reading.