March 29-31

Sunday morning: brought Jenny and Helen into town, at 12:00 noon Marty met us and we hit the road for our first-ever visit to PPL Center in Allentown. The Flyers established the AHL Phantoms franchise in 1996, for its first thirteen seasons the team played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. When the building was closed and ultimately demolished in 2009 the club was moved to Glens Falls, NY on a temporary basis where it played as the Adirondack Phantoms. The long-term plan was to move the franchise to Allentown, it was expected to happen by 2012 but it took until the fall of 2014 before the arena officially opened. On this day the Lehigh Valley Phantoms hosted the Manchester Monarchs, the Los Angeles Kings' AHL affiliate. When the Phantoms schedule was released in August I looked for an afternoon game on a weekend when the Royals were away at a time in the season when weather issues would not be a major concern, this 3:05 game on the fifth Sunday of March was made to order. The arena's listed capacity is slightly less than 8600, this game was a sellout (I ordered our tickets online back in January to be on the safe side) and I saw quite a few Royals fans there. The Phantoms are on the playoff bubble, the Monarchs have the league's best record and a postseason berth already clinched. Top Flyers prospect Scott Laughton put the Phantoms up 1-0 in the first period but that would be the lone LV score as Manchester rallied for a 3-1 win, veteran goaltender Rob Zepp (a one-time Florida Everblade) suffered the loss for the Phantoms. There was a lot of irony to the fact that the Manchester Monarchs were the opponent we saw on this day. When the Royals started in 2001 we were LA's ECHL affiliate, the Monarchs were our original AHL partner. In January it was announced that in 2015-16 the AHL and ECHL are trading some franchise cities around. The Kings are moving their AHL club to Ontario, California and Manchester will be joining the ECHL as a divisional rival of the Royals. It's all part of a movement for the NHL's western clubs to have their AHL affiliates in the same region of North America and it makes sense. Case in point: if the Flyers need a player from the Phantoms it's a short drive from Allentown to Philly, conversely the Kings have to fly a man cross-country from New Hampshire. One thing is for sure: the landscape of minor league hockey is changing and in the long run it's for the better. Nothing much going on Monday or Tuesday, except for some afternoon rain on Tuesday the month went out like the proverbial lamb. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 26-28

Went to the mall for lunch on Thursday since I never made it there on Monday. On Friday evening we were back at the Nook for the final night of the winter indoor league. Don and Bri were back from Indiana, on this night we played the semifinals and championship game. There were eight teams in the league and all qualified for playoffs, in the quarterfinal round Brendee's, the Agents, Trio Bar&Grill and McCleary's Pub were eliminated. In the semifinals on this night the UniLords defeated the Steamers and the Killbots beat the Benchmark Oil Riggers, after a brief recess the Unilords prevailed in the championship game. Several of the team names are undoubtedly familiar, I would guess that 85% of the players in the league have also played at Reservoir Park. We'll have our meeting for the spring league at the rink on April 6 with a target starting date of April 20. Apparently the good folks at the Nook were pleased with how well the indoor league operated, Don tells me that plans are on the board for a regulation-sized rink that may be ready by the fall. It has been a long-time goal to move the league indoors, Don is very encouraged that this may finally be the payoff. If all goes well the spring season may be the last one outdoors, if we're indoors by the fall I personally would feel like I died and went to "hockey heaven". We've have negotiations in the past with other facilities that went nowhere, maybe this time will be the charm. Lunch with Jenny was all that happened on Saturday but Sunday is shaping up to be a busy day. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 25

Wednesday night at the Arena in downtown Reading, the Florida Everblades came to town for the last of their four regular-season appearances. On March 15 the Royals played the 500th home date in franchise history, on this night the club played its 1000th regular-season game overall (thirteen years of seventy-two plus sixty-four in the current season). The milestone was celebrated prior to the opening faceoff, as part of the festivities Royals athletic trainer Brian Grogesky was honored specifically. "Grogs" has been with the club from the very beginning and has been present on the job at every game the club has ever played. The Royals went 2-0-1 on the most recent road swing but on this occasion the pregame hoopla was easily the highlight of the night, the visiting Everblades scored early and never trailed in a 5-1 win. Brett Flemming scored the Royals' lone goal late in the third period after the competitive aspect was long since decided, Connor Knapp suffered the loss in net. The Royals' record drops to 41-17-6, 20-11-2 at the Arena. The boys departed after the game for another trip, this includes the final five away from home. The final three at the Arena are April 8 versus Wheeling and the 10th and 11th versus the Indy Fuel. The Royals are in the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year (the berth was clinched during the last road trip) so we know that the season will continue beyond the 11th, the opponent for the first round is undetermined. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 20-24

Friday was the first official day of spring but the weatherman didn't get the memo. A dusting of snow in the morning with cold temperatures was followed by afternoon sun. By late afternoon most of the snow had melted away, in the evening we were at the Nook for indoor hockey playoffs. The four quarterfinal games were played on this night, the semifinals and championship game are on the 27th (every round is a one-and-done). Don has done most of the officiating and daughter Brienna has run the clock but they was absent because Bri was playing in a volleyball tournament in Indianapolis. Devyn refereed all four games in Don's absence, one of Bri's school friends ran the clock. The rest of the weekend was quiet except for the usual Saturday lunch visit with Jenny, on Monday morning I had my taxes done. All of the work is done electronically these days, there was a computer glitch which could only be fixed by the person in charge and she was in a meeting. I went there shortly before 10:00 and didn't get out until 1:00, I would have been done much earlier without the gremlin in the laptop. On Tuesday evening the Lancaster city council had its bi-weekly meeting, the first order of business was the passing of a resolution honoring the McCaskey basketball team for its achievements. Most of the club was able to be there as well as the coaches, Wally and Jamie (as the team's equipment managers) and me. It got very emotional when Brandon Allen took the podium and talked about how inspirational Coach Powell was to the team in light of his own health problems. A lot of people in his position would have taken the year off but Coach Powell lives for what he does. When I first heard of his illness back in the fall someone asked me how he could coach if he couldn't talk, knowing Coach Powell as I do I said "Just watch". Barring any setbacks there's no reason to think he won't be back in full voice by the time the new season starts in November. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 16-19

Tuesday afternoon at McCaskey for the bus ride to Reading HS for the state semifinal game and what would prove to be the end of the trail. The club was in tough against the ranked #1 team in the entire state and although they battled to the bitter end it was not enough. Roman Catholic won 69-66, after the game the coaches felt that the officiating had been less than equitable. We played a zone defense most of the night specifically to stay out of foul trouble yet we were whistled for twenty-two personal fouls resulting in thirty-five free throws (and twenty-three made) for RC, conversely they played us aggressively man-to-man and were called for only twelve fouls (we were 9-for-12 at the line). When the game ended we had one starter on the bench having fouled out and four others on the floor with four fouls each, nobody from Roman had more than three. Anyone with any knowledge of the sport can tell you that something there definitely doesn't add up. It's a tough way to end the season but in the long run there is much to be proud of. It was an unusual season to begin with because of the subplot surrounding Coach Powell's surgery and recovery. The final record is 23-11, in twenty-three years as the head man Coach Powell's mark stands at 436-204 (a 68.1 winning percentage). We played nine more games than in 2014 and went 8-1 in them. The boys were division and league runners-up and entered the district tournament as the #4 seed, after a lackluster go in the districts the club won three games in the state tournament before bowing out against the odds-on favorite to win it all. Kobe Gantz led the club in scoring with an average of 17.8 per game, Randolph Speller checked in at 11.7, La'Detrius Sibley and Tyler Owens just missed double figures with 9.6 each. Kobe scored his 1000th career point on March 14, he is the tenth player in program history to achieve this and the seventh under Coach Powell's watch. Ran is probably the next in line, he'll enter his senior year needing 201 to reach 1000 (an even 600 in two years at JPM plus 199 during his freshman year at Lancaster Catholic). We lose eight seniors but with good talent coming up from a 15-3 JV squad the future is not bleak, it's all a matter of developing the right chemistry. Jenny and I did lunch on Wednesday, she had a medical appointment in Willow Street in the afternoon. On Thursday I was back at McCaskey one final time for the season, Coach Powell was collecting uniforms and I turned in the scorebooks. It's interesting to note that this was the first time since 2010 that I was actually present at the final game, in every year since a Royals game coincided and kept me away. All told I was only absent from four games all season, that's about as good as it gets. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 14-15

Saturday morning lunch in Quarryville, from there we embarked on the first leg of our four-county journey. Royersford is about forty-five miles (give or take) from Jenny's place, the online driving directions I had were right on so we had no trouble getting there except that it's not exactly a direct route by any means. We started in Lancaster County, traveled northeast through Chester County and arrived in Royersford (just over the Montgomery County line) around 1:45 or so (we were there before the team arrived, they had left Lancaster at 12:30). The game tipped off at 3:00 and it will long be remembered by all those who witnessed it as JPM advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 2002 with a 60-59 win over La Salle College HS (from suburban Phialdelphia). This game was your typical face-to-face fifteen-round fight to the finish. We led by seven at the quarter and trailed by one at the half, entering the final period we were up by four. La Salle played in the state title game in 2014 and they showed their mettle by rallying to lead by one with ten seconds to go. On the ensuing possession Kobe Gantz's running jumper fell short but Tyler Owens was there to cash in the rebound with two seconds left to give us the lead. The crowd exploded, the buzzer sounded and everybody thought the game was over but WAIT!!! The officials ruled that La Salle had called timeout before the buzzer so the clock was reset to two seconds and they were given an inbounds play needing to go the length of the floor. Their strategy was defended beautifully, the time ran out and we celebrated victory for a second time since the first one didn't count. For a moment I couldn't help but think of the USA-Soviet Union debacle at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, at least on this occasion justice prevailed. Kobe was game-high with 26 (including career point #1000 late in the third quarter), Tyler had 18 with none bigger than the final two. The game wound down shortly after 4:30, the ladies and I got into my car and high-balled it west on route 422 into Berks County. We got to the Arena around 5:15, later than usual but still in plenty of time for the 7:05 hockey game. The Kalamazoo Wings were in town for a two-game set, their lone appearances of the season in Reading. On Saturday night each team scored once in the first period and once in the second with Olivier Labelle and Sean Wiles doing the honors for the Royals. In the third period the K-Wings scored three to the Royals' none and won it 5-2, Martin Ouellette took the loss in net. In the Sunday rematch it was just about all Royals as Jordan Heywood, Cam Reid, Olivier Labelle, Pat Mullane, Brett Flemming and Kevin Walrod lit the lamp in support of Connor Knapp in a testy 6-1 victory. The club's mark stands at 39-16-5 (20-10-2 at the Arena), the next home game is on Wednesday the 25th. On Sunday night we learned that the Tuesday basketball game is at Reading HS, our opponent is Philadelphia Roman Catholic. We played Roman in the very first game of the '13-14 season and lost by six but a lot of water has gone over the dam since then. At the very least it's nice to have the game in familiar surroundings, we played at RHS in January. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 9-13

It warmed up considerably in the early part of the week, temperatures in the 40s and low 50s melted down a lot of the dirty white stuff. Had lunch with Jenny and her mother on Wednesday, in the evening we made the trip to New Holland for the game against Methacton. The word on our opponent was that they had some size and could shoot but they were not especially athletic. We fell behind 11-0 (on three three-point goals and a jump shot) in the first three minutes, at the quarter we trailed by eight. In the second period the club found its footing and shaved five points off the deficit, at the half we were down 33-30. In the second half it was an entire different game, Methacton's shooting cooled off drastically and fatigue became a definite factor as we outscored them by sixteen and won 65-52. Kobe Gantz had a monster night with 32 (matching his season high), La'Detrius Sibley had 12 and Randolph Speller added 10 (should mention that Ran pumped in 35 in the first-round victory over Abington). The win is the team's twenty-second against ten losses and puts us into the state quarterfinals on Saturday the 14th. On Thursday morning we learned that the game is at Spring-Ford HS in Royersford at 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. Royerford is just off route 422 about 25 miles east-southeast of Reading and since the Royals are at home that night I am going to drive on my own instead of riding the bus. The ladies and I will do lunch as usual, from there they'll travel with me and make the day of it as well. I missed the first-round game because the travel was prohibitive but this trip is doable, I was hoping the game would be a little closer to home and earlier in the day but it could have been much worse. The basketball game should be over by 4:15 (certainly by 4:30), we'll head straight over to Reading from there for the 7:05 game at the Arena. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 7-8

Saturday lunch with Jenny and Helen, in the afternoon we were at my place when the phone rang. Marty had gone to the basketball game at Cheltenham, he called to report that McCaskey had won 71-66. He said the place was packed and was 99% Abington fans, when the game ended they just sat there in utter shock that they had lost. We were a eight-seed and they won their district title so it just goes to show what I've always said: there is no such thing as easy money. The win advances JPM into the second round of states for the first time since 2006 and insures another game on Wednesday the 11th. In the evening the ladies and I were back at the Arena in downtown Reading, the Toledo Walleye making the second of their three visits in the opener of a back-to-back (the Walleye won at the Arena back on December 4). The Royals fell behind early 1-0 but rallied to go up 3-1 in the second period, from there the Walleye staged their own comeback with four straight (the last into the empty net) to take a 5-3 decision. Matt Hatch, Brandon Alderson and Cam Reid scored for the Royals, Martin Ouellette (back from the Phantoms) suffered the loss in net. On Sunday we were back at it early, at 1:30 the annual Battle Of The Badges took center stage. This game was first played in 2006, it's hard to believe this is its tenth year already. The game is always lively and this year was no different, the Reading Fire Department beat the Reading Police 4-3 to extend their series lead to 6-3-1. At 5:00 the Royals and Walleye squared off once again, after two home ice losses to Toledo the home team got back on the winning side. Goals by Reid, Alderson and David Marshall gave the Royals a 3-0 advantage at the second intermission, the Walleye scored twice in the third but down the stretch Connor Knapp held the fort for the tough 3-2 win. The weekend split moves the Royals to 38-15-4 (19-9-2 at home),the boys play in Elmira on Friday the 13th before hosting Kalamazoo on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday night the PIAA announced the second-round game sites, JPM plays Methacton (the seven-seed from District I) on Wednesday night at Garden Spot HS in New Holland. That's a short trip for us (about fourteen miles) and it certainly is about time we had a game that wasn't in another county, the scheduling we got in the district tournament was of no advantage whatsoever. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 tip and it is the next major event on the calendar. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 3-6

The middle part of the week was largely quiet, a morning errand run on Tuesday was followed by Wednesday lunch with Jenny in Quarryville. We had not planned on doing lunch on this day but the forecast for Thursday was ominous and it was right on the money. It began to rain on Wednesday afternoon, I took the scorebook over to basketball practice since I was going to be absent from the game on Saturday. JPM opens the state tournament against Abington (the champion of District I), the game is at Cheltenham HS at 1:00 on Saturday afternoon. Since we are the number-eight seed from our district our opponent gets a home-territory advantage, Cheltenham is about three miles from Abington. In 2006 we opened states against a school from Philadelphia in a Philadelphia gym and won the game, maybe lightning can strike twice. The afternoon rain turned to snow overnight, by daybreak on Thursday it was WHITE. There were reports of accidents and early closings all over, Jenny called and said they couldn't get out the front door. I got as far as the front porch but no further because there was no reason to. The storm finally moved out in the evening hours, on Friday morning I got the car moved out, cleaned off and kept a haircut appointment (travel in the morning was of little concern, most of the main roads were clear). The morning newspaper had a story about the storm, they estimated that the city got better than eight inches while in Quarryville they got eleven (the southern part of the county always seems to get more, probably because it's largely rural). Spoke to Don in the afternoon, he said the night's indoor hockey schedule at the Nook was still on. This was the final night for the eight-week regular season, playoffs quarterfinals are on Friday the 20th. The Nook's Thursday activities were curtailed because of the weather, the court the league plays on is needed for other leagues on the 13th so hockey has a week off until the 20th. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 1-2

It's often quoted that March comes in like a lion, the third month of 2015 began just that way. It started to flurry on Sunday morning, by early afternoon the streets were getting wet. Reports were the more severe weather would be to the south, I picked up Jenny and her mother and we headed north on 222. It was a sloppy go but we had no real issues getting there, the saving grace is that I park in a garage catty-corner to the Arena so at least my car is under shelter during the games. Heard that the concert which supplanted the Royals on Saturday night drew better than 9000 people, Arena management had to be happy with that. On this afternoon the Royals hosted the Elmira Jackals in the opener of a back-to-back. The Jackals had the better of the play for much of the first period, they led 1-0 at the intermission. Late in the second period the Royals were awarded a penalty shot when an Elmira defender covered the puck in the goal crease, Cam Reid converted the opportunity to tie the game at 1-1. Early in the third Sean Wiles broke the deadlock, moments later Adam Hughesman added the final goal as the Royals took it 3-1. The snow had stopped by the time the game ended, the drive home wasn't as bad as I feared it might be. The worst part was the parking lot in the complex in Quarryville. It was sheer ice, Helen actually slipped and fell in the walkway at their front door but she said she was OK. On Monday we had some morning sunshine, a lot of the slush from Sunday melted down nicely. There was an article in the newspaper claiming that the previous month was the second-coldest February for our area on record (and I believe it). Had lunch at the mall, in the afternoon we made the return trek to Berks County for the makeup game from Saturday (and the last of Elmira's eight regular-season visits). Monday night games are very rare, the last one anybody could recall at the Arena was in the 2010 playoffs (Andrew Sarauer's famous overtime series-clinching score against Kalamazoo). On this night the Royals were in control from the outset, goals by Ryan Cruthers and Sean Wiles made it 2-0 at the first intermission. The Jackals scored their lone goal early in the second, late in the period Wiles struck again to make it 3-1. In the third period Olivier Labelle added to the lead, in the final minute Cruthers netted his second of the night to bring the final score to 5-1. Connor Knapp played and earned the win in both games. The two-game sweep improves the club's record to 37-14-4, 18-8-2 on home ice. The club has off until the weekend when the Toledo Walleye visit for a Saturday/Sunday double-dip. Take care, thanks for reading.