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.