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.