October 30

Thursday morning lunch with Jenny and Helen in Quarryville, in the evening I was at the Arena as the Royals hosted the Wheeling Nailers. All of our Wednesday, Thursday and Friday home games are at 7:30 this season, between the later start and an early wake-up call on Friday Jenny and her mother were absent. This was the first of six visits to Reading for the Nailers and a rare stand-alone home date for the Royals, we only have ten such dates this season. The Royals wore special Halloween-themed sweaters with orange and black the prominent colors, appropriate considering the new affiliation. Newcomer Adam Hughesman (third-year pro from Winnipeg, Manitoba) gave the Royals a 1-0 lead just thirty-four seconds into the game. That one goal stood up until early in the third, scores by David Marshall and Olivier Labelle extended the lead to 3-0. Connor Knapp lost his shutout bid in the final moments but the club held on to win 3-1 and improve to 3-2-0 in the early going. The teams meet again in Wheeling over the weekend, the Royals are back home on November 7 and 8 for a "doubleheader" against Fort Wayne. Take care, thanks for reading.