October 24-30

The weather around here has been ridiculously unpredictable, the week began with cooler temperatures but on the weekend it was in the 70s and 80s. Had my usual Monday morning lunch at the mall, in the evening we were at the rink for the start of street hockey week #6. Three games on the schedule with the Misfits winning over the Kings, the UniLords over the Blues and the Riot over the Hammerheads. On Tuesday we had the final three-game night of the regular season, all of the remaining dates have makeup games plugged in at 8:45. On this night the Misfits defeated the Hammerheads, the Owls beat the Pub Dawgs and the UniLords downed the Steamers. On Wednesday Jenny and I had our traditional midweek lunch date, on Thursday rain moved into the area and stayed for most of the day. The night's schedule at the rink was washed out and reset for November 6th. The weekend proper was quiet except for Saturday lunch with Jenny and a Sunday AHL hockey game in Hershey. Marty has a connection for free tickets there, he had called earlier in the week and asked me if I wanted to go to this game since the Phantoms were the opponent and I had nothing else going on. I saw my first live pro game at the old arena in Hershey in 1968, from '73 to about 2001 I was a virtual regular there but things changed with the advent of the Royals. Hershey opened a new arena in 2002 and I still got to several games a year but in recent seasons I cut back severely, this was my first time there since January of 2014 and it didn't take me long to be reminded of why I haven't missed it in the least. The current building has none of the charm and atmosphere the "Old Barn" had and a hockey night in Hershey just isn't the same anymore. When I was younger the games at the old arena were major events, nowadays the experience is lukewarm at best (I guess you could say I've "been there, done that"). The game was tied 2-2 in the second period, the Phantoms goals courtesy of rookie Nicolas Aube-Kubel and veteran Colin McDonald. Late in the period Hershey broke the tie on a power-play and made it stand up for a 3-2 win, third-year pro Anthony Stolarz was the Phantoms goalie of record. There's a possibility that I might go back for another game or two (depending on when Marty can get tickets) but only if it fits into my schedule, Hershey is a place I simply don't go out of my way for anymore. I get the Royals home schedule taken care of and we make it to a Phantoms home game in Allentown each season, anything beyond that is gravy. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 21-23

The warmer weather was still with us on Friday morning, in the afternoon dark clouds began to form in advance of an anticipated cool front. Jenny and her mother were along for the late-afternoon drive north to Reading, about halfway through the trip the skies opened up and we drove through a downpour. When we arrived at the Arena it was noticeably cooler, it had not yet rained in Reading but it did shortly after we were inside. The Royals won in Wheeling on Thursday, on this night the Manchester Monarchs were making the first of their seven regular-season visits. The organization celebrated Oktoberfest and German Heritage Night with a beer mug giveaway featuring former Royals Philipp Grubauer, Patrik Hersley, Charlie Kronschnabel, and Daniel Steiner. The game itself was just about all Manchester, the Mons led 2-0 in the the third period before Steven Swavely lit the lamp to get the Royals on the board. The momentum died quickly as the Monarchs replied with three more and won it going away 5-1, Mark Dekanich made his third straight home start (exhibition game included) in goal and took the loss. The club's mark stands at 2-1-0 in the early going as they prepare to embark on an eight-game road trip, the first game on the swing is on the 26th. According to research it is the longest stretch away from home in club history, the next home game is not until November 12. On Saturday the temperatures were only in the 60s, being outdoors was like being in a wind tunnel. Jenny and I had lunch together, on the way back into town I stopped by the rink. The winds on Friday had been strong from the southeast but they had shifted to out of the northwest with the cooler weather. There were a good number of leaves on the rink surface but the northwest wind had them in pockets in the corners, on Sunday after the early football games were over I went to the rink and cleaned them up. I'm sure there will be work to do on Monday as well but at least the weekend portion is done, winds are supposed to continue from the west/northwest so we'll take Monday as it comes. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 17-20

The weather forecast for the week called for abnormally high temperatures (the proverbial Indian Summer) and that is exactly what we got. Daytime highs in the 80s on Tuesday and Wednesday broke the records for those dates, the old marks for October 18 and 19 around here had stood since 1963. On Monday we were at the rink for the start of week #5, we had four games on the docket including a makeup from September 29. The Riot defeated the Kings, the UniLords beat the Misfits, the Blues outlasted the Pub Dawgs and the Owls won via overtime shootout over the Hammerheads. Tuesday night featured the standard three-game card, winners on this night included the Misfits over the Owls, the Riot over the Pub Dawgs and the Steamers over the Blues. On Wednesday morning Jenny had an appointment in town, the access van brought her in from Quarryville. I provided the return trip and we had our usual midweek lunch. On Thursday it was somewhat cooler (if temperatures in the 70s can be considered cooler), in the evening we finished the week's schedule with another four-game night. Two of the games were rematches from earlier in the week thanks to the makeups, the Pub Dawgs over the Blues and the Misfits over the Owls. In the other games the UniLords defeated the Kings and the Steamers beat the Hammerheads. With five weeks in the books we are right where we should be, all postponements are made up and every team has played ten games with four remaining. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 15-16

Saturday night at the Arena in downtown Reading for Opening Night of the 2016-17 ECHL season, "Hometown Hockey" is the Royals' marketing slogan for the new year. The Elmira Jackals were the opponent making the first of their five regular-season visits. The Royals' opening-night roster features thirteen players who appeared for the club in '15-16, in addition popular former Royal Olivier Labelle is back with the team after spending a season playing in France. The Royals came out strong in the opening period scoring three times in the first ten minutes. Perhaps it was only appropriate for Labelle to score the season's first goal, just over a minute later Reading native Steven Swavely lit the lamp to make it 2-0 (Swavely is a first-year pro on assignment from the AHL Phantoms, he played as a collegian at the University Of Maine). Two minutes after Swavely's score veteran newcomer Kris Newbury (fourteen-year pro with seventy-six NHL games to his credit) extended the advantage to three but the Jackals got one back, another Elmira score early in the second made it 3-2. Late in the period Chris McCarthy (third year pro, Phantoms assignee from the University Of Vermont) gave the Royals some wiggle room, in the final period Labelle bagged his second goal of the night to up the lead to three. A final score by Ryan Penny (second-year pro from Fall River, Nova Scotia) rounded out a 6-2 win on a night that could not have gone much better, Mark Dekanich was the winner in net. The night's Three Stars were all Royals, Penny at #3, Newbury #2 and Labelle #1. The boys play in Wheeling on Thursday the 20th, the next home game is the 21st against Manchester. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 13-14

Thursday night at the rink as we wrapped up week #4 of the street hockey season. Earlier in the week I found out that October 31 is "trick-or-treat" night in the city, the last few years it's been on the Friday closest to the 31st. On that basis I grudgingly scheduled games for the 31st when the schedule was formulated but this news changes everything, there is no way we are playing games on T-or-T night because experience has taught us otherwise. The teams involved are all aware of the situation, we'll have some four-game nights to work the games in and stay on schedule. Thursday night featured three games, two of them were resolved via overtime shootout. The Riot defeated the Misfits and the Blues outlasted the Owls, in regulation play the Steamers beat the Pub Dawgs. Friday night was a football night in Lancaster, both Lancaster Catholic and McCaskey were playing at home. I was of course at McCaskey (seniority taking precedence) but a small part of me was at LCHS because the game there was the final game scheduled at Rossmere Stadium. It is being torn down and completely rebuilt on the same site, the playing field will be reoriented north-south instead of east-west. I did not attend LCHS but I've being doing their games when I'm available since 1996 and I must admit I feel an affection for the place and I'll miss it. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress of the new stadium's construction, I've seen pictures of what it will look like and it is impressive. The Crusaders sent the old ballpark out with a 45-0 win, across town at McCaskey the game I worked was eminently forgettable. The Red Tornado started the year 2-1 but had lost three straight, on this night the streak reached four with a lackluster 23-8 loss to Hempfield. The only score for JPM came in the third quarter when a McCaskey ball-carrier fumbled at the goal-line, offensive lineman Geraldo Medina covered the ball in the end zone for the TD. New quarterback Ante Robinson rushed for the two-point conversion. JPM plays the next two on the road, the last home game is on November 4 against Warwick. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 10-12

Hit the mall for lunch on Monday morning, after that I stopped by the rink and did some cleanup work for the evening's games. It was a head-start for Don since he would be running things in my absence. On this night the Royals hosted their annual "meet and greet" for season ticket holders at the Arena, an event Jenny and Helen always enjoy attending. In past years the players would be seated at tables around the concourse but this year the layout was different. The arena had hosted a concert on Sunday night and the floor covering the ice was still down, the tables were set up on the floor and the fans were directed to ice level. The ice was uncovered at one end and fans were invited to take shots at the goal so the entire night had a very different feel. Twenty-one players were there and Jenny got everyone's autograph plus photos with her personal favorites. As she made her way around I walked along at a respectable distance, I was actually approached by a few good folks who asked me for my autograph. It doesn't happen often but I never stiff anybody who asks. A fan once came to the penalty bench before a game and tapped on the glass to get my attention. He then knelt down with his back to me and took a selfie with me in the background. In the photo it was not apparent that there was a pane of glass between us, it looked for all the world that we had actually posed together. The M&G started at 6:00 and wound down at 8:00, by the time I was back in town the night at Reservoir Park was over. On Tuesday I was back in the house for the three games scheduled, winners on this night were the Kings over the Owls, the Hammerheads over the Pub Dawgs and the UniLords over the Riot. Wednesday featured morning lunch with Jenny, the rest of the day was quiet since there were no games at the rink. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 7-9

Friday night on Penn Street in downtown Reading, the Santander Arena was the site for preseason hockey. The Royals are beginning their sixteenth season in the ECHL and it's hard to believe for two reasons: (1) that it's actually been that long already, and (2) I was there when it all began back in 2001. Obviously there is work involved in what I do but it's always better when you're in an environment where it's actually FUN to be there and the job is not made into a chore. On this night the Elmira Jackals were the opponent, the Royals have a fair number of returnees in camp but as is usually the case in preseason most of the players in uniform were those "on the bubble". Head coach Larry Courville observed the action from the suite level, assistant coach Kirk MacDonald (a member of the 2013 Kelly Cup squad) ran the game at the bench. The Royals lost 3-1, the lone score coming courtesy of rookie Zach Hall (from Belleville, Ontario). Veteran goaltender Mark Dekanich (signed in the off-season as a free agent by the Flyers organization) got the start and took the loss. On Saturday morning I was out and at it early, there was a soccer doubleheader going on at McCaskey. Jon Mitchell had asked me if I could work this, it was the girls team's Senior Day and they were playing in the stadium. That's one of the great things about my vocation: one night I'm working a pro event with several thousand in attendance, the next morning it's a high school game in front of several DOZEN. The JV game kicked off at 9:00, the senior ceremonies preceded the varsity game at 11:00. McCaskey's girls soccer program has struggled this season, on this day both games ended in shutout losses. In the evening the Royals played the back end of the exhibition home-and-home in Elmira. The boys lost that game as well but the results of preseason games are meaningless, it's all about evaluating the talent and figuring out who makes the cut. The Royals begin the regular season at home on Saturday the 15th against Elmira, the first of five times the Jackals visit during the regular year. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 1-6

The damp weather conditions lingered through the rest of the weekend, the only noteworthy activity was Saturday lunch with Jenny. On Monday morning I was at the dentist for a routine checkup (a wonderful way to start a new week), in the evening we were at the rink. On this night the Kings beat the Riot, the Owls defeated the Hammerheads and the Blues outlasted the Steamers. Tuesday night featured four games, the three regularly-scheduled plus one of the makeups from September 29. Winners were the Pub Dawgs over the Owls, the Blues over the Kings, the UniLords over the Misfits and the Steamers over the Hammerheads. Jenny and I had our usual midweek lunch date on Wednesday, on Thursday we completed week #3 at the rink. The Misfits defeated the Hammerheads, the Riot vanquished the Pub Dawgs and the Steamers beat the UniLords. Take care, thanks for reading.