December 29-31

Tuesday night at McCaskey for the tournament finales, in the consolation game York defeated West York 65-53. The championship game was decided early on, Lower Merion raced out to a 24-6 lead after one quarter and were never headed in a convincing 70-50 win. Kobe Gantz led JPM with 12 points, reserve guard Jathan Gonzalez was the only other Red Tornado in double figures with 10. We trailed by as much as thirty-one in the third quarter so the guys deserve credit for keeping the score somewhat respectable against one of the best programs in the state. Kobe and Randolph Speller were named to the tournament's all-star team, had we won the game either man may have been named MVP. The club's record stands at 8-2 (both losses in non-league play), the team is back in action on January 5th when we host Manheim Township. Had lunch with Jenny and her mother in Quarryville on Wednesday morning, an errand run on Thursday was the extent of that day's activities. The Royals closed out 2015 on Thursday with the final game of a four-game road trip. In December the club played thirteen games, eleven of them away from home. They earned fourteen of twenty-two possible standings points on the road by going 5-2-4 which is more than acceptable even though it's technically below .500. In January the club plays nine of its fourteen games on home ice, it all starts with a visit from the brand-new Adirondack Thunder for a double-dip on the 2nd and 3rd. Glens Falls, New York has a long history in the AHL (including hosting the Flyers' affiliate from 2009 to 2015), the ECHL franchise came to New York State as part of the AHL's western migration. The Royals have a history against the franchise itself, the (at that time) Stockton Thunder was our opponent when we won the Kelly Cup in 2013. Thanks for reading, everybody, See you in 2016.