November 29-30

Stopped over at McCaskey on Saturday morning, the basketball team was having a scrimmage with Susquehanna Township (from the Harrisburg area). It started at 10:00 but I was not there for either the start or the finish, I dropped in for about twenty minutes or so before continuing on to Jenny's place for lunch. In the evening we were back in downtown Reading for game #2 with Greenville. There are nights when everything goes your way and other nights where everything goes wrong, this game was most definitely the latter. The visiting Road Warriors skated to a 3-0 lead early in the second period, a score by recent Phantoms assignee Brandon Alderson put the Royals on the board. From there it fell apart in rapid fashion, four unanswered Greenville goals made it 7-1 at the second intermission. The Warriors added another in the third period, scores from Pat Mullane and Adam Comrie brought the Royals to within five but that would be it as Greenville left town with the 8-3 verdict. Connor Knapp played the first two periods and suffered the loss, backup Peter Dundovich (still subbing for Martin Ouellette) worked the third period. The boys hit the midpoint of the ten-game homestand at 9-6-2 (5-4-1 at home), the Toledo Walleye visit on December 4 followed by South Carolina on the 6th and 7th. Nothing of note on Sunday outside of football on TV and a session with the stationary bike, now that the weather is turning the bike is an alternative to walking outdoors. Take care, thanks for reading

November 27-28

Thursday was Turkey Day (if you will), for me that meant little but a quiet day at home with football wall-to-wall (games on TV at 12:30, 4:30 and 8:30). Made an errand run on Friday morning and passed by the mall, the parking lots were as crowded as you might expect. In the afternoon I went to Jenny's place, she and her mother were along for the evening's game at the Arena. The Royals hosted Greenville in the opener of a two-game set and came away with a 5-2 win. Kevin Walrod lit the lamp in the first period, Olivier Labelle's goal early in the second made it 2-0. The Road Warriors cut into the deficit but scores from David Marshall and newcomer Willie Coetzee gave the Royals a 4-1 advantage (Coetzee started the season with a team in Austria and returned to North America earlier in the week). Greenville would put one more on the board in the third period but a goal by Sean Wiles capped the scoring as Connor Knapp picked up the win in net. The Royals had an emergency backup goalie in uniform, Martin Ouellette was recalled to the Phantoms after the game on Wednesday. He is expected to be in the AHL through the weekend at least, time will tell. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 24-26

Sometimes things happen that are so bizarre it's best not to even try to figure it out. When we were at the rink for the street hockey league's championships we were subjected to three nights of brutal cold and wind. On Monday temperatures reached into the 60s but the midweek forecast was calling for SNOW. The early part of the week was uneventful in terms of activity, on Tuesday evening after supper I went over to McCaskey. Winter sports season practices began on the 17th, on this night the basketball team was there from 5:30 to 7:30 (practice time alternates weekly, the girls team had been there from 3:30 to 5:30). Coach Powell underwent surgery earlier in the fall, the operation was centered around the neck and throat area. The healing process is ongoing and he's nowhere near 100% but he was there because coaching and the team are what he lives for, he's been at it at McCaskey for a long time. The club has scrimmages scheduled for Saturday the 29th and Tuesday December 2nd, the first game is on the 9th against Chester. Late on Tuesday night precipitation moved into the area as the winter storm warning remained in effect, the snow started falling in earnest on Wednesday morning. Jenny and I talked it over and we decided it best that I not try to travel south to her place (the rural areas around Quarryville are always worse for driving in this kind of weather). She was disappointed to miss the game (so was I) but the thing is I would hate to see her injured in an accident. I HAD to travel because I was working, as a fan she doesn't have to take that risk (besides, we were playing Elmira and they are an opponent she'll see often enough). I left a half-hour earlier than usual but the drive north on 222 was remarkably calm, outside of one traffic backup for a fender-bender there was little issue. The turnout at the Arena was acceptable all things considered, we got underway at 7:30 (the normal Wednesday/Thursday/Friday game time for this season). The Royals took a 1-0 lead thanks to Adam Comrie but the Jackals rallied to lead by one in the second period. David Marshall tied it at 2-2, Comrie's second goal of the night gave the Royals a one-goal lead. Elmira would tie the score 3-3 in the early going of the third period, that score would stand through the end of overtime. In the shootout the Jackals outscored the Royals three-to-one to claim the 4-3 win. Martin Ouellette was the Royals' goalie of record. The drive home was of no consequence, the snow had stopped earlier in the evening and the highway was clear. The Royals are now three games into a ten-game homestand, they don't play on the road again until mid-December. The Greenville Road Warriors come to town for a two-game set on Friday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 22-23

Saturday night hockey in downtown Reading as the Royals returned home from a four-game road swing. The day actually began with a 1:30 afternoon game featuring the club teams from the United States Naval and Military Academies. It was part of a day-long salute to veterans, Army defeated Navy 8-2. The Royals went 3-0-1 on their road trip, on this night a new ECHL franchise made its first appearance at the Arena. Indianapolis, Indiana has a long history in pro hockey (all-time great Wayne Gretzky began his professional career there in 1978) but the city has been without a franchise since 2004. The new club is officially known as the "Indy" Fuel, they were visiting for a weekend doubleheader. In the Saturday opener the Fuel broke a scoreless game open with a three-goal second period. The Royals got on the board early in the third on a score by Maxim Lamarche, moments later Pat Mullane cut the deficit to two. With six minutes left Adam Comrie lit the lamp to make it 3-3, three minutes later Olivier Labelle gave the Royals the lead. From there Connor Knapp and company held the fort as the Royals took it 4-3. In the rematch on Sunday the Royals struck quickly, goals by Cam Reid and Andrew Johnston (Flyers property recently added from the AHL Phantoms) made it 2-0 in the game's first three minutes. Indy got one back before the first period ended but the one-goal advantage held up for the duration as Martin Ouellette backstopped the Royals' 2-1 victory. The back-to-back wins improve the club's mark to 8-5-1 (4-3 at home), the boys stay home for a date with Elmira on Wednesday the 26th. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 17-21

Monday morning: dark and gloomy with rain all around, it finally moved on in the late afternoon but with temperatures in the 40s we decided to forgo the evening's street hockey schedule. Had it been a regular season night we may have tried it but in playoffs we tend to employ a different logic. On Tuesday it turned blustery and much colder, one of the guys actually called to ask if we would postpone games under those conditions. I told him that rain may stop us but cold will not so plan accordingly. Both division's finals began on Tuesday and ended on Thursday in three-game straight sweeps, AMW won the East title over 551 West and JBE Auto Transport defeated American Bar&Grill for the West championship. Despite the brevity of each series the individual games were very competitive, the largest margin of victory in any game was just two goals. With the weather turning as it did I doubt anyone is heartbroken that the season is over, at least we got out before the first snowfall. There have been years when we've been there in December trying to get it done but the league was larger back then. On Friday morning I stopped by and cleaned up some things for the winter, the evening was spent in the quiet of home. The Royals are at home on Saturday and Sunday. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 10-16

Street hockey playoffs began on Monday evening, the top four finishers in each division qualified for a best-of-three series. Saw the heart doctor on Tuesday morning. he said everything is looking and sounding good. Unless I should have any recurrence he won't need to see me again for a calendar year (won't complain about that at all). Each playoff series played its second game on Tuesday evening, three of the four ended in two-game sweeps. In the East AMW beat Yorgo's, in the West JBE Auto Transport eliminated the Misfits and American Bar&Grill defeated Brendee's. The only matchup requiring a deciding game was between 915 Cafe and 551 West, that took place on Wednesday night with 551 West emerging victorious. We had planned on starting the West finals on Thursday since both of their semifinals ended on Tuesday but the weather had other ideas. It was very raw and rainy in the morning and conditions never got any better, the decision to postpone was easily made. There was no question it was the right call, by the scheduled 7:00 game time it was sleeting. The precipitation moved out overnight into Friday but the weekend was quiet, a Saturday lunch visit with Jenny was the extent of activity. The Royals spent the weekend in Kalamazoo and Toledo, they played three games and won them all (although two of them needed a shootout). The boys return home on the 22nd for the start of a ten-game homestand. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 7-9

Friday night hockey at the Arena as the Royals hosted the Fort Wayne Komets for a weekend doubleheader. This was the first meeting between these clubs since the playoffs back in April and no Royals fan needs to be reminded of what happened then. Each team underwent its fair share of roster turnover during the off-season but this weekend's results from a Royals standpoint were hauntingly familiar. In the Friday opener the Ks scored first but goals from Cam Reid and Mike Marcou gave the Royals a 2-1 lead after one period. In the second the Komets would score twice, another goal early in the third put the Royals back by two. Sean Wiles found the net in the closing minutes but that would be the extent of the comeback, Connor Knapp was the Royals goalie of record in the 4-3 loss. In game #2 on Saturday the Royals jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead on scores by Adam Hughesman and David Marshall. After Fort Wayne tied it early in the second Ryan Cruthers put the Royals back to top but the pesky Ks replied quickly to knot the score at 3-3. A late second-period tally from Pat Mullane and an early third-period marker by Marshall gave the Royals a 5-3 advantage, the Komets got one back but Adam Comrie's goal with seven minutes left made it 6-4 Royals. Unfortunately the roller coaster ride was far from over, the game boomeranged quickly as the Komets scored three goals within four minutes and escaped with a 7-6 verdict, Martin Ouellette suffered the loss in net. This was Fort Wayne's lone regular-season visit to Reading, many Royals fans are undoubtedly happy about that. The Royals' record drops to 3-5-0 in the early going, the boys play four straight on the road before returning to the Arena on November 22. Not much going on Sunday, I stopped by the rink in the afternoon and did some cleanup work for the start of playoffs on Monday. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 1-6

A quiet weekend with the Royals out of town, the Saturday lunch date with Jenny was the lone highlight. On Monday we started the final week of the street hockey league's regular season. With all postponements accounted for and no weather issues in the forecast we figured to get things finished right on schedule. The East games on Monday featured 551 West over Union Station and Yorgo's over 915 Cafe via shootout, in the West the Misfits beat Old School and JBE Auto Transport defeated McCleary's. There was some light rain falling right before 6:15 game time but it didn't amount to anything significant (this was happening despite a forecast that called for ZERO percent chance of precipitation). Tuesday's East contests saw 551 West victorious over AMW, Union Station beat Yorgo's. The West games featured Brendee's over the Misfits and American Bar&Grill over JBE Auto Transport. On Wednesday the regular season ended on the very night it was scheduled to, in the East AMW beat 915 Cafe. The West side wrapped up with American Bar&Grill over Brendee's and McCleary's over Old School via shootout. Rain was expected late Wednesday night into Thursday, it arrived as predicted and hung around most of the day (good thing there were no games at the rink). Playoffs semifinals begin on Monday the 10th, the best two-of-three series continue on Tuesday the 11th. Take care, thanks for reading.