April 29-30

Royals playoff update: it's all over. The club staved off elimination with a win in game #6 on Tuesday but fell 3-2 in the final game on Wednesday. It marks a second straight year of first-round elimination after winning it all in 2013 but the fact that the club has made playoffs for six years running (and ten of the franchise's fourteen seasons overall) speaks well. A preliminary schedule for the '15-16 season is out, with the addition of several new eastern-based clubs the slate has a very different look to it. The season starts on October 17 in South Carolina (proof that the league clearly has a sense of humor), the home opener is on the 24th against Elmira. On Wednesday Jenny and I had lunch together, in the evening we were back at the rink. One West game and three crossovers were on the docket: the Misfits over ProQuality Group, 551 West over Union Station, the Unilords over MSB and the Oil Riggers over JBE Auto Transport. On Thursday there was rain in the forecast but it stayed away from us, we wrapped up the week with two West games and the first two East head-to-head games of the season. In the East the UniLords beat the Oil Riggers and 551 West beat the Steamers, the West games saw American Bar&Grill over McCleary's Pub and JBE Auto Transport over Brendee's. The usual group rotated through as officials, Bri and Ashley had clock duty. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 27-28

Had the usual Monday morning lunch at the mall, the rest of the day was uneventful. The Atlantic League season is officially underway, Dick and I had talked about going to the game in York since the Barnstormers were the opponent but it was too chilly and windy for his liking. The Revs have their share of late-afternoon Sunday home games (which I like because of the later start time), I missed the game on the 26th because of the Royals playoff game. On Tuesday we reconvened at Reservoir Park for the start of week #2, we had one crossover game and three within the West Division. American Bar&Grill beat the Steamers, Brendee's Irish Pub defeated McCleary's Pub (a battle of the bars as it were), MSB won over the Misfits and Union Station outlasted ProQuality Group. Ron and Jonnny refereed, a young lady named Ashley ran the clock. She is a friend of Don's daughter, she'll be helping us out since Wally is largely unavailable due to health concerns. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 25-26

The playoff series against South Carolina continued at the Arena on Saturday and Sunday, the Royals entered the weekend down 2-1 and exited it down 3-2. A Saturday night win evened matters but the momentum didn't carry over, the club lost on Sunday in one of the more demoralizing ways imaginable. In game #4 the Royals got goals from David Marshall, Mike Marcou, Jordan Heywood and Pat Mullane as Connor Knapp backstopped a 4-2 victory. On Sunday in game #5 the club held three separate one-goal leads thanks to scores by Marcou, Cam Reid and Sean Wiles but the Stingrays replied each time. With 1:20 left on the clock SC took their first lead at 4-3, in the closing minute the Royals pressed with the extra attacker but could not draw even. I've been with the Royals since the franchise began in 2001 and it's been a long time since the building was as quiet as it was when the game ended. The series returns to South Carolina for games on Tuesday and Wednesday and the task for the Royals is clear: win them both or call it a season. The club had a strong road record during the regular season, what that means for the upcoming week remains to be seen. In another two or three days we'll all know. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 23-24

Jenny was in town on Thursday for a medical appointment, after lunch she and her mother were at my place for the late-afternoon trip north on 222. It was a hockey night in downtown Reading, game #3 of the best-of-seven division semifinal series against South Carolina. The Royals came out strong and took a 1-0 lead three minutes in on a score by David Marshall. In the second period SC netted three straight, late in the period Marshall struck again to make it 3-2. That was as close as the Royals would come, the Stingrays scored twice in the third (the last into the empty net) and registered a 5-2 win. Connor Knapp took the loss in net for the Royals. In any playoff series the so-called "hate" factor develops quickly, things turned nasty in the final moments. The Royals trail in the series two games to one, game #4 is on Saturday at the Arena with game #5 set for Sunday. The cooler weather is still around, after the game the walk to the parking garage was windy and downright COLD. Stopped at Reservoir Park and picked up the roster book on my way home, Thursday's games completed week #1 of street hockey. We're back at the rink on Tuesday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 20-22

Had lunch at the mall on Monday morning, after supper I went to the rink to do some preliminary work in preparation for the start of the season. We started playing there in the late fall of 1979 and have had a season every spring and every autumn since, on Tuesday we began what would be our 72nd championship season at Reservoir Park. We've done informal summer seasons in the past that did not include playoffs but they haven't happened in recent years. We have twelve teams in two divisions, four in the East and eight in the West. All eleven from the fall season have returned (some with new identities), the lone new team is one that played in the league previously and has reformed. The Tuesday openers featured two crossover games and two within the West Division. In the crossovers MSB defeated 551 West and the Steamers beat Union Station, the West games saw McCleary's Pub over ProQuality Group and JBE Auto Transport over American Bar&Grill. Derek and Devyn refereed, Derek's new wife Kathy ran the clock (they were scheduled to be married back in October but the date was postponed when Derek was injured, their union finally became official in March). The warmer weather in the early part of the week disappeared on Wednesday, we had some brief but hard rain in the afternoon that brought cooler temperatures with it. By 5:00 the radar was encouraging, we proceeded with the evening's schedule. All four games on this night were crossovers: 551 West beat Brendee's, the Oil Riggers defeated Union Station, the UniLords took down the Misfits and the Steamers won over MSB. Ron and Jonny officiated, Don's daughter Bri ran the clock. There are four more games set for Thursday but I am absent, the Royals play game #3 of their playoff series at the Arena. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 18-19

Saturday morning: traveled northwest to Elizabethtown for a baseball doubleheader at E-Town College. Earlier in the week the school's director of athletic communications contacted me, they had a very busy day of competition scheduled on Saturday and they were going to be short-staffed. He is originally from the Reading area and we had never met but I guess he knows me by reputation so he asked me if I could help out on the PA. He said he usually does the games but with everything else going on he needed to be available to rove around. I have been to Elizabethtown College on a handful of occasions but very rarely, the last time I can remember was for a McCaskey basketball playoff game in the mid-90s. The baseball field at E-Town is called Kevin Scott Boyd Stadium, built in 2004 and named in memory of a former player who passed away prematurely. For a small college it is a very nice facility, there is a seating area directly behind home plate with the press box at the top of the grandstand. E-town's opponent on this day was Drew University (from Madison, New Jersey), both schools are members of the Landmark Conference. We got underway at 1:05 and played two seven-inning games, E-town took the opener 6-1 and Drew won the second game 14-1. We were done around 5:50 or so, from there I went to Jenny's place. Since we missed out on lunch we made sure to have supper together instead. Sunday was a stay-in type of day which didn't bother me after a busy Saturday. The Royals began their first-round playoff series in South Carolina over the weekend, after dropping game #1 in double overtime the boys rebounded with a 4-2 win in game #2. The middle three games are at the Arena (and we now know they are all necessary), game #3 is on Thursday the 23rd. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 16-17

Thursday morning: took copies of the street hockey schedule to Don's wife Brenda, she works in town and I called her ahead of time so she knew when I'd be by. On Friday Jenny was in town on business, we saw each other over the lunch hour. From there I made my way to Clipper Magazine Stadium on North Prince Street. The last time we were there was the night the Barnstormers won the Atlantic League championship, spring training camp for the new season opened earlier in the week. On this day the Stormers hosted the Camden Riversharks in a 1:00 exhibition game. It was not heavily promoted and there was no admission charge, I'd estimate there were about a hundred people there. The Barnstormers list several returnees on the training camp roster including pitchers Pete Andrelczyk, Chad Beck, Cody Eppley, Dan Osterbrock, Scott Patterson, Matt Packer, Nate Reed, Jason Urquidez and Shunsuke Watanabe. Catchers Juan Apodaca and Keith Castillo are on the roster as are infielders Yusuke Kajimoto and Lance Zawadzki, outfielders Blake Gailen and Jerry Owens round out the playing returnees. Butch Hobson is back as manager, Rich Rundles returns as pitching coach and former pitcher Ross Peeples aka The Mayor has retired and become a coach as well. The Barnstormers lost the game 6-4, they begin the regular season on the road on April 23rd with the home opener one week later. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 13-15

Monday morning lunch at the mall as usual, in the evening Don and I spoke on the phone about spring street hockey. He was still getting callbacks from captains but the basic format is established. We'll have twelve teams in two divisions (four in one, eight in the other) and every team will play the other division's teams one time each. We'll have four games each on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with Sundays and Mondays left open for makeups as needed. Some of the teams in the league travel on weekends for tournaments, leaving Mondays open affords them a chance to recover somewhat before playing league games during the week. On Tuesday Marty came into my place, from there we headed northeast to Allentown for the Phantoms hockey game at PPL Center. Normally a trip to Allentown during the week wouldn't be part of the plan but Marty wanted to go because the Hershey Bears were the opponent and he is a fan of their NHL affiliate. There was a time in the past when I was a virtual regular at games in Hershey but that time is past, I haven't been there since January of 2014 and quite frankly I don't miss it. On this night in downtown Allentown the Phantoms trailed 1-0 early in the second period when Scott Laughton found the net to tie the game. The deadlock remained into the third period, goals by Petr Straka and Jason Akeson gave the Phantoms a 3-1 lead. Danick Martel's empty-netter in the final minute capped the scoring as the Phantoms took it 4-1, winning goalie Rob Zepp was named the game's #1 star and deservedly so. The AHL regular season ends on the weekend, the Phantoms are out of the playoff running but it's safe to say the first season of Allentown pro hockey has been a resounding success. On Wednesday Jenny and I had lunch in Quarryville, in the evening Don and I firmed up the street hockey league's divisional and schedule format . Each team plays fourteen regular season games plus two guaranteed playoff games, the regular season starts April 21 and runs through June 4. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 10-12

Friday evening: back at the Arena for the final weekend of the regular season. The Indy Fuel was the opponent in the opener of a two-game set, they had played a double-dip at the Arena back in November. The Royals took an early lead in the first few minutes on a score by Sean Wiles but Indy took a 2-1 advantage into the third period. Midway through the stanza Kevin Walrod evened the score but in the closing moments the Fuel snapped the tie and held on for the 3-2 win, Martin Ouellette was the goalie of decision for the Royals. On Saturday the teams met again in game #72, on this night Indy scored first but Maxim Lamarche lit the lamp in the second period to tie it at 1-1. The deadlock remained through the remainder of regulation play and a scoreless overtime, in the OT shootout the Royals prevailed three goals to none as Connor Knapp picked up the 2-1 win. After the game the organization announced its end-of-season awards. Team captain Bryant Molle won the leadership award. Brett Flemming was recognized for dedication, Jordan Heywood received the sportsmanship award, Maxim Lamarche was named top defenseman and Cam Reid was voted team MVP. The Royals' final record checks in at 45-21-6 (21-13-2 at home), the club faces the South Carolina Stingrays in the first round of playoffs. The series opens in SC on the 17th, the Royals host games 3, 4 and 5 (if needed) on the 23rd, 25th and 26th. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 8-9

Wednesday night in downtown Reading for the Royals' first home game in two weeks, the Wheeling Nailers were the opponent for the last of their six regular-season visits. The season series has been entirely slanted towards home-ice advantage, the Royals came into this game 5-0 against Wheeling at the Arena but 0-5-1 in West Virginia (if you take Wheeling out of the equation the Royals' road mark was 24-3-3 which is ridiculous no matter how you look at it). The Royals fell behind 1-0 in the first period, in the second stanza Olivier Labelle hit the net to tie the game. On the road trip Olivier scored his 100th career goal as a Royal, his tying marker on this night was his 30th on the season. The Nailers retook the lead late in the period and made it stand up for the 2-1 victory, Conner Knapp took the loss in goal for the Royals. The club's mark drops to 44-20-6 (20-12-2 at home), the boys finish the regular season on the weekend with a double-dip against Indy. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 6-7

Monday morning lunch at the mall, in the afternoon we were back at McCaskey for a 4:15 ballgame. School usually lets out around 3:00 or so and traffic can be insane but there was no school on this day so there were no issues in that regard. On Saturday it was chilly with a brutal wind blowing straight out to right field, on this day it was warmer with temperatures in the 60s and a strong crosswind from right to left. This was a league game against Warwick, they are supposed to be one of the stronger teams in the league. On this occasion they showed it by scoring four runs in the first inning on the way to a 10-2 win. Chances are this is the last game I'll work unless something unexpected happens, the faculty member who usually covers the games is due back from vacation. I worked in pro ball for thirty-five years before the experience was ruined by the arrogance and monumental ego of certain parties who showed no respect for history, tradition and the contributions and accomplishments of those who came before them but that's a rant for another time. I can only admit that I enjoyed working the two games at JPM, my only regret is it's not a job I could commit to on a regular basis like football and basketball. The game ended around 6:30, I went immediately to Reservoir Park for the spring league street hockey meeting. There were nine teams represented (but there are always those who never attend but enter anyway), the plan is to start on Monday the 20th. There was little happening on Tuesday, the Royals return home on Wednesday for the final week of the regular season. Take care, thanks for reading.

April 1-5

The new month began on a Wednesday, I was with Jenny and her mother for lunch in Quarryville. We did our weekend lunch date on Friday instead of Saturday since I was going to be otherwise occupied. Earlier in the week Jon Mitchell had contacted me about doing the PA for McCaskey's baseball games on Saturday and Monday. A faculty member usually works them since they are chiefly played after school during the week, he was going out of town so Jon asked me to fill in. It was rainy on Friday afternoon, during the evening we had a period of steady precipitation but on Saturday morning the game went on as scheduled. It was chilly and very windy (which actually helped to dry the field), I was there at 11:00 for the 12 noon start. The winds were out of the north/northwest which was good for me since the pressbox faces in the opposite direction but I could still feel it, many of the spectators were siting or standing directly in front of the building in an effort to shield themselves from the blustery conditions. JPM hosted Exeter in a non-league game, they took a early 4-0 lead and never trailed on the way to a 7-4 win. On Monday they play a league game against Warwick, I'll work that game as well. It always feels good to work a baseball game, at one time in another life it was a big part of what I do but sadly that is no longer the case. The Royals finished a five-game road trip on Saturday night that brought the away portion of the schedule to completion, the club's mark on foreign ice was a remarkable 24-8-4. There are a lot of teams that struggle to play .500 on the road, the Royals managed to earn 52 of a possible 72 standings points away from home. The boys return home for the final three games of the regular season, on Wednesday the 8th (against Wheeling) and a weekend double-dip on Friday and Saturday (against Indy). Take care, thanks for reading.