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.