December 31

2014 ended with temperatures remarkably mild for this time of year, so far we've only had one noteworthy snowfall (the Wednesday before Thanksgiving) and that fizzled as quickly as it arrived. After being buried early on last winter I certainly won't complain. Jenny, her mother and I did lunch on Wednesday morning, in the afternoon we made one final trip to Reading in the calendar year. The Royals hosted the Elmira Jackals for a second straight home date, this marked the first time in franchise history the club played a New Years Eve game at the Arena. The puck dropped at 5:30 and for two periods neither team could light the lamp. Early in the final period the Jackals were awarded a double-minor power play, they scored on both ends of it to go up 2-0. Two more goals followed in quick order and that would effectively end it as the Royals suffered their first shutout setback of the season 4-0, Martin Ouellette (back from the Phantoms) suffered the loss. The club's record stands at 17-10-2 (9-7-1 on home ice), after two road games on the weekend the 2015 portion of the home schedule begins on Wednesday the 7th. Thanks for reading, see you in the New Year.

December 30

Tuesday night basketball at McCaskey for the consolation and championship games of the holiday tournament, the early game featured the Red Tornado against Moyer Academy. Moyer was defeated soundly by York on Monday, on this night it was JPM's turn. We scored thirty-three points in the first quarter alone en route to a 101-40 decision, had this been a prizefight it would have stopped in the first round. We led at the half by thirty-seven, the mercy rule kicked in early in the third quarter. Five players hit double figures: La'Detrius Sibley had the big night with 24 points, Tyler Owens had 15, Randolph Speller 14, Kobe Gantz 13 and Ricky Cruz (one of two players on both JV and varsity) added 12. One can't take too much from a game like this but it's still a win, JPM's record improves to 6-3 overall. The championship game came down to the last possession, Capitol Christian beat York 74-73. The tournament's All-Star selections were announced afterward, Kobe Gantz was the lone JPM representative. The PIAA does not count games against out-of-state competition in its rankings for district playoff seeding, if the district tournament started tomorrow we would officially be considered 5-2 instead of 6-3. Had we played York either night that game would have counted in the district rankings but as far as Pennsylvania is concerned the entire tournament never existed since all four games featured out-of-state teams (just one of those weird, wacky things about high school sports). JPM is back on the floor in the new year on Friday the 2nd, league play continues with a trip to Penn Manor. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 29

Monday morning lunch as usual at the mall, after that I saw Jenny briefly since she was in town on business. In the evening we were at McCaskey for the first night of our annual holiday tournament. In the opener York defeated the Moyer Academic Institute (from Wilmington, Delaware), in the nightcap JPM lost to Capitol Christian Academy (Landover, Maryland) 78-63. Capitol Christian is a very strong program and posed an excellent challenge, the loss in and of itself is not all that distressing but after the game the coaches were not especially happy with our club's effort. Kobe Gantz led JPM with 15, Tyler Owens had 12 and Elijah Brown added 11 but on the whole it was not a good night for the Red Tornado. It has been several years since we failed to qualify for the tournament title game, the boys meet Moyer in the consolation game on Tuesday at 6:00. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 24-28

Wednesday morning: had lunch with Jenny and her mother since everything would be closed on Thursday. I gave Jenny the option of opening her gift on the 24th or waiting until she would be in town again on Saturday, she elected to open it early (it was a music CD she has wanted for some time). The actual holiday itself was the usual zero it always is, my feelings on the subject are well-known and there's no need to go over it again. The fact that Jenny is a part of my life is the only reason it even registers on my radar. On Friday the world returned somewhat to normal, Jenny was in town on business and I saw her over the lunch hour. A friend of hers is in the hospital and is not doing well, she asked me to take her there for a brief visit. Saturday was a hockey night in Reading as the Royals returned home from a 4-1 road trip. The trip ended on Friday with a noteworthy win in Elmira, it was the 500th regular-season victory in the franchise's fourteen-year history. During the trip the club lost both Connor Knapp and Martin Ouellette on recall to the AHL thanks to injuries in both Philadelphia and Allentown. Colorado College product Joe Howe was acquired as goaltending insurance, on this night he earned the win as the Royals defeated Elmira in the back end of the home-and-home set. Rookie defenseman Jordan Heywood (from Merrimack College) scored his first pro goal to give the Royals a 1-0 lead in the first period but the Jackals scored twice in the second to take the lead at 2-1. Late in the period Pat Mullane evened the score, midway through the third Olivier Labelle found the net to give the Royals the lead. Moments later Heywood struck again to make it 4-2, a late Jackals score made it close but the Royals held on for the 4-3 win. The victory is the club's fifth in a row and eighth in the last nine games, the overall record stands at 17-9-2. The 2014 portion of the schedule wraps up with a New Years Eve game at the Arena, Elmira is the opponent for a special 5:30 start. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 22-23

Little of note on Monday, on Tuesday night McCaskey was the venue for the week's lone basketball game. Warwick was the opposition for another divisional matchup. In the JV game the Red Tornado prevailed to stay unbeaten in league play, the varsity game was a JPM victory as well but it was closer than the final score might indicate. Warwick is historically a P.I.T.A. team to play against, no matter the records it's never an easy assignment. A three-point lead after one quarter expanded to nine at the half, in the third quarter JPM pulled away and took it 76-58. For the first time this season Coach Powell had the entire roster in uniform, they all played as five hit double figures: La'Detrius Sibley led with 17, Tyler Owens 14, Randolph Speller 13, Kyaire Bynum 12 and Kobe Gantz had 10. The record improves to 4-1 in league play, 5-2 overall. The next action for JPM is the annual holiday tournament, this year it's a Monday/Tuesday format on the 29th and 30th. Every year it seems that I miss part of it because the Royals but that will not be the case this time around, both nights are good for me. York High is in once again (they have been a constant almost from the tournament's inception), the other two schools will be new entries. From what I'm told one is from Maryland and the other from Delaware so the tourney will have a new look. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 18-21

Jenny had a Thursday morning appointment at the health campus, we had lunch afterward at her place. On Friday we convened at McCaskey for the second road game of the week, this was the never-enjoyable trek north into Lebanon County for the game at Cedar Crest. Over the years CC has never been a easy place to play, we've had our successes there but you never feel entirely comfortable. Crest is the defending league champion, they beat us three times in '13-14 including a playoff game for the division title. The JPM JV won their game, in the varsity contest it was CC just about all the way. We had a early 2-0 lead but Cedar Crest scored the next nine and never looked back as they took a 57-48 decision. Kobe Gantz led with 24 points but nobody else checked into double figures. When one man scores half the points it's never a good sign, after the game in the locker room the coaching staff reinforced that point. The loss drops JPM's mark to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in league play, the boys play next on the 23rd at home against Warwick. The rest of the weekend was quiet save for Saturday lunch with Jenny. The Royals are in the midst of a five-game road swing, they have won three straight after the trip-opening loss in Wheeling. The next game at the Arena is on Saturday the 27th against Elmira. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 16-17

Tuesday is usually a game night in the LL League but with three games this week it was a night off, I spent it at home with a hockey game on TV. On Wednesday we boarded the bus at McCaskey for the third of our six crossover games with Section II. The venues for these games are supposed to alternate yearly but this night was our second consecutive trip (and the third in four years) to Ephrata. The JV game turned uncompetitive quickly, JPM was ahead by almost thirty by halftime en route to a 67-21 win. The varsity game was almost a carbon copy, we opened up a big lead early and took it easily 88-47. Randolph Speller had the big night with 22, Kobe Gantz added 18, Elijah Brown continued his hot hand with 13 and Tyler Owens rounded out the double-figures club with 10. With both games entering into the mercy rule the night was over much sooner than usual, we were back at McCaskey just as Ephrata's girls team was leaving. The week wraps up on Friday with the game at Cedar Crest and nobody on our side needs to be reminded of what happened against them in the '13-14 season. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 15

Monday morning at the mall for lunch, in the evening it was a basketball night at McCaskey. The club played twice in my absence over the weekend and won both, a league crossover in Elizabethtown on Friday and a non-league game versus Reading HS on Saturday. This night was the second home game of the season but the first for me, Garden Spot was the opponent. Every two years the league realigns by enrollment, GS is back in Section II after a four-year hiatus (Cocalico moved down to section III as the other half of the swap). The night started with the 6:00 JV game, JPM was victorious to improve their mark to 2-2, 2-0 within the league. The varsity game was decided early on, the Red Tornado led by eighteen at the quarter and thirty-five at halftime. The forty-point mercy rule kicked in during the third quarter, the final score was 95-43. Four players hit double figures for JPM: Elijah Brown 22, Tyler Owens 15, Randolph Speller 12 and Brandon Allen 10. Brown and Allen are newcomers to the varsity: Elijah played JV each of the last two seasons, Brandon was on the JV squad two years ago and did not play in '13-14. The club's record moves to 3-1 (2-0 league), the week's gauntlet continues with a Wednesday crossover in Ephrata and a Friday divisional game at Cedar Crest. Going there is never a pleasant trip but at least we're getting it out of the way early, we also play in Lebanon in January so there are two trips to Lebanon County to deal with. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 11-14

Jenny and I had our lunch date on Wednesday since she had been in town for an appointment, for that reason Thursday was a quiet day save for the morning errand run. On Friday she and her mother were along for another hockey weekend in downtown Reading. The Wheeling Nailers were at the Arena for what was actually a three-in-three, two games on our ice plus a Sunday rematch in Wheeling. In the Friday opener Brandon Alderson's first-period score gave the Royals a 1-0 lead, goals from Pat Mullane, Olivier Labelle and Zach Davies in the middle frame upped the advantage to 4-0. The Nailers broke the shutout bid early in the third but Alderson's second goal of the night made it 5-1 Royals. By all rights the game should have been decided at that point but the resilient Nailers battled back to within one in the closing moments. Martin Ouellette and company held the fort for the 5-4 win setting the stage for the Saturday return date. This night was the annual holiday "Ugly Sweater" game, the 2013 edition was hugely popular so the organization brought it back for a second go-around. There was a special puck-drop before the game, a young man who suffered a spinal stroke earlier in the year was escorted onto the ice by Ryan Cruthers to a standing ovation. His name is Derrick Redcay, his story has become very well-known in the Berks County area and Cruthers has been active in fundraising efforts for the medical costs. On this night Wheeling would get the early 1-0 lead, Andrew Johnston replied midway through the second to tie the game at 1-1. In the third period Ryan Cruthers (somewhat appropriately) netted the tie-breaker as the Royals won 2-1, Martin Ouellette was once again the Royals' goalie of record. The club-record ten-game homestand ends with the Royals posting a 6-3-1 mark. On Sunday the boys played their first road game since November 21, the game in Wheeling was supposed to start at 5:00 but it didn't work out that way. There were ice issues at the arena, the game didn't begin until almost 7:30. The Royals' bid for the three-game sweep was thwarted as the Nailers won on their ice 3-2. The Royals overall record stands at 12-9-2, the next home game is on December 27. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 8-10

Monday evening: Don and I met at a local sports/entertainment complex. It's always been a goal of his to move our street hockey league indoors, this meeting was to discuss that possibility with a representative of the complex's management. Nothing is decided but the meeting went well so there is reason to be encouraged, we'll learn more over the winter months. On Tuesday we boarded the bus for the first game of my 27th year as scorekeeper/PA announcer for McCaskey basketball, the annual non-league game with Chester (Coach Powell's alma mater) started the season. Every time we visit Chester Coach Powell is warmly welcomed, this time was somewhat more poignant given his health situation. Over the years we have struggled against Chester which is no embarrassment since they are one of the top programs in the state. The Red Tornado roster features five returnees, six players promoted from the '13-14 junior varsity and one player back from a season's absence (every year we always seem have at least one player who didn't play the year before). On this night in Chester JPM trailed by six at the half, in the second half Chester pulled away for the 74-48 verdict. Kobe Gantz led JPM with 25 but he was the only man in double figures, Randolph Speller had eight, Tyler Owens had seven and La'Detrius Sibley and Kyaire Bynum had four points each (interesting to note that seven of the twelve players on the roster were also members of the football team). The boys play on Friday and Saturday but I will miss both because of the Royals, my next game is at home on the 15th. On Wednesday evening the JPM girls played at home, I took advantage of a rare opportunity to see them play. The girls had started their season with a road win on Tuesday, on this night they lost to Exeter (from suburban Reading) 54-50. One of the middle school coaches does the PA at their games, in addition the faculty member who will substitute for me when I'm absent from home games was there. He had contacted me for advice and told me he never did PA work before, we spoke before the game about what he can expect. Take care, thanks for reading

December 5-7

Quiet Friday evening at home in anticipation of a busy Saturday and Sunday. The South Carolina Stingrays came to town for a back-to-back set, these two games comprised their only regular-season visit. The opener on Saturday night was a definite case of deja vu as the Stingrays carried a 3-0 lead into the second period (the third consecutive home game in which the Royals trailed by three early on). Adam Hughesman's goal got the Royals back into it but another SC score reestablished the three-goal deficit. Midway through the third period Willie Coetzee made it 4-2 but that would be the final score, Connor Knapp was the Royals' goalie of record. On Sunday afternoon it was our annual Teddy Bear Toss game, always a popular attraction. The fans had to wait a long time to throw their stuffed animals, the game remained scoreless through two periods. Early in the third David Marshall scored the "teddy bear" goal to give the Royals the lead, moments later Adam Hughesman lit the lamp to extend the lead to two. That was all Martin Ouellette would need, the 2-0 victory was his first shutout as a professional and the club's first of the season. The Royals' record stands at 10-8-2, the ten-game homestand wraps up with the Wheeling Nailers for a double-dip on the 12th and 13th. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 1-4

The final month of 2014 began with a Monday morning visit to the health campus, my mother had an eye appointment and I was her driver. On Tuesday evening at McCaskey the basketball team had another scrimmage, this was a three-way with Wilson and Octorara (from Berks and Chester Counties respectively). Nine ten-minute running-time periods were played in rotation, each team played six and sat out three. Coach Powell was not there at the start, he had a doctor's appointment regarding his surgery and the recovery. The fact that he is actively coaching under the circumstances is remarkable, it just shows that you can't keep a good man down. Not much going on Wednesday, on Thursday we did our usual lunch date in Quarryville. In the evening I headed north to Reading, the Royals hosted the Toledo Walleye. This was the second and last of our Thursday home dates, Jenny and her mother were absent from both because of early Friday wake-up calls. The game started at 7:30 and for the Royals it started poorly, Toledo scored three goals in the first twelve minutes. Adam Hughesman put the Royals on the board in the second period but the Walleye responded with two of their own to make it 5-1. Mike Marcou lit the lamp in the period's final seconds to bring the Royals within three, early in the third Ryan Cruthers' goal shaved the deficit to two. The Royals made it 5-4 midway through the frame when Ian Watters found the back of the net but the comeback ended there, a Toledo empty-netter in the final minute brought the final to 6-4 in favor of the Walleye. Martin Ouellette (back from the Phantoms) got the start in goal and took the loss. The Walleye return for a double-dip in March, the current home stretch continues on the weekend with the South Carolina Stingrays as the opponent. Take care, thanks for reading.