January 28-29

Saturday lunch in Quarryville with Jenny and her mother, Helen is still hurting but slowly getting better. In the afternoon we headed north on 222 for the start of a great weekend of hockey at the Arena. The Royals played two road games during the week and went 1-0-1, on this night the Fort Wayne Komets visited Reading for the first time since November of 2014. The Ks are one of minor pro hockey's more storied franchises, they have existed under the same name since 1952. Earlier this season the Fort Wayne community (and the entire hockey world) suffered a horrible loss when legendary Komet broadcaster Bob Chase passed away. Bob was 90 years of age, he became the voice of the Ks in 1953 and worked until his health no longer allowed it. I became familiar with his work in my childhood, I finally had the chance to meet him when Fort Wayne joined the ECHL in 2012. It can truly be said that they don't come any better, he was a classy gentleman and he'll be missed. In the game itself the Royals broke the ice late in the period on a Justin Crandall score, Matt Willows made it 2-0 midway through the second. Late in the period Steven Swavely and Maxim Lamarche scored fourteen seconds apart to expand the advantage to 4-0 at the intermission. The Ks broke the shutout midway through the final period, in the closing moments Ryan Penny scored an empty-netter and Justin Crandall added another with ten seconds left to wrap up a surprisingly one-sided 6-1 Royals victory. On Sunday the Manchester Monarchs came to town for the fourth of their seven regular-season visits, it was Mascot Mania day as the organization celebrated Slapshot's 16th birthday. The region's two Atlantic League baseball clubs were represented, Cylo was there from the Lancaster Barnstormers and the York Revolution sent Downtown and Cannonball Charlie to the festivities. The Royals once again jumped out to a early lead, goals by Robbie Czarnik, Chris McCarthy and newcomer Johnny McInnis (third-year pro from Minnesota State-Mankato) made it 3-0 after one period (the goals by McCarthy and McInnis were just fifteen seconds apart marking the second straight game the club scored in rapid-fire fashion). In the second period the Royals doubled their advantage on scores from Matt Willows, Olivier Labelle and Steven Swavely to lead 6-0. The Monarchs posted a three-spot of their own in the third but the Royals held on for the 6-3 verdict, Martin Ouellette was the winning goaltender for the second straight night. The Royals' record stands at 25-14-3, 14-6-0 at the Arena. The boys are on the road for their next three games, the next home date is February 9. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 27

Friday afternoon: boarded the bus at McCaskey for the short ride to Conestoga Valley HS. Every year (no matter how good or bad our record may be) we always seem to lose one game within the league for which there is simply no explanation, the game on this night at CV may stand forever as a microcosm for the '16-17 season. All year long there has been something missing and it's been some time since we've had as down a season as this has been. We lost 68-50 to a team we had beaten by eighteen earlier in the year, we came out flat as a pancake and never really got off the dime. I take nothing away from our opponent, they played an outstanding game and richly deserved the victory. The problem was our club's effort, it was like watching someone being bitten by a snake and nobody had an antidote. The loss drops the record to 5-6 in the league and 6-11 overall, any hope of so much as a league playoff berth is just about out the window. The eleven losses clinches a losing season since we are only playing twenty-one games, it will be our first year below .500 since 2004. That team finished 10-14 but I always look back fondly upon it because they battled back from 4-12 to finish strong and make the league playoffs. The club has four games left, the next two are at home on the 31st and February 3. The last one is February 7 and it's been a long time since our season ended that early in the calendar. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 23-26

Monday lunch at the mall started the week in the usual manner, on Tuesday Jenny was in town in the morning for a medical appointment. She told me her mother wasn't feeling well, Helen had gone to the clinic in Quarryville (it's that time of year, everybody's fighting something). I took Jenny home and we did our midweek lunch a day early. In the evening we were at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Penn Manor. Both JV and varsity won big in Millersville back in December, on this night the JV squad won 51-48. The varsity game was much closer this time around but JPM made it a season sweep with an 80-67 win. We were up by eight at the half, extended it to thirteen after three quarters and held the fort from there. Ricky Cruz and William Joseph had monster nights with 29 points each, Ricky had 35 in a game in 2015 but this was Joseph's career high for points. The boys improve to 5-5 in league play and stay in contention for a playoff spot, the overall mark is 6-10. Wednesday and Thursday had little to recommend except for the morning errand runs and some further concern for Helen's health. I called Jenny on Wednesday night and she was very upset, Helen was having trouble breathing and had chest pains. The ambulance brought her into town and the local medical facility, on Thursday the doctors ascertained that the viral infection she was diagnosed with at the clinic on Tuesday and the resulting coughing was putting strain on her heart. Jenny called early Thursday night to tell me she was being released, a neighbor was coming to town to take her home so everything appears OK for now. Helen is 79 and she's had heart trouble, anytime she has any pain of any kind around that area she takes no chances (smart move). Take care, thanks for reading.

January 20-22

Friday evening: back in downtown Reading, the Royals hosted the Adirondack Thunder in the fourth of six scheduled meetings at the Arena. The club received some reinforcements from the AHL Phantoms for this game, defenseman Reece Willcox and forward Radel Fazleev were in the starting lineup. This was the third of the organization's "Flyer Fridays", two-time Stanley Cup winner Orest Kindrachuk was in the house signing autographs (former Flyer Doug Crossman had visited on December 30 and Bill Clement on January 6). In the game itself the Royals took an early lead on a goal by Reece Willcox assisted by Matt Willows and Matt Wilkins (Willcox from Willows and Wilkins, say that three times rapidly). The Thunder tied the game midway through the first period, that 1-1 score stayed in effect as regulation time expired. The Royals were on a power play as overtime began and wasted no time cashing it in, Jesper Pettersson's shot from the right circle locked down Sweet Victory 2-1. It is the Royals' first overtime win on home ice since the first game of the Kelly Cup Finals in 2013 (!!!!) and the first win past regulation at the Arena since a shootout win over the Indy Fuel in April 2014. In other words: It's Been Awhile. On Saturday the Wheeling Nailers came to town for the last of their three regular season dates. This night was the annual Penn State THON night, one of the major fundraising dates on the home schedule. The game was another low-scoring tight-checking affair, it was scoreless until the Nailers broke through with two quick goals late in the second period. The Royals got on the board late in the game thanks to a Matt Willows score but Wheeling was able to hold on and escape with a 2-1 win. Martin Ouellette was the Royals' goalie of record for both games. The weekend split brings the club to the midpoint of the home schedule at 12-6-0, the overall mark checks in at 22-14-2. The team had a brutal early-season schedule with thirteen of the first sixteen on the road, after a 6-8-2 start the club is 16-6-0 in its last twenty-two games. The boys play two on the road during the coming week, the next home date is on Saturday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 17-19

Tuesday night at McCaskey for the start of the league schedule's second half. Back in December we lost in overtime at Cedar Crest, on this night CC visited for round two. In the JV game JPM suffered its first league loss, the varsity game was an up-and-down roller-coaster ride that ended in another maddening defeat. The lead changed hands close to thirty times before CC prevailed 63-62. JPM had the last possession but was unable to get a good look at a potential game-winning shot. William Joseph had a career-best 19 for the Red Tornado, Ricky Cruz added 15, R.J. Godwin had 12 and Isiah Speller chipped in with 11 but it has no real meaning because the TEAM did not win. After the game Coach Powell noted that the team simply is not playing particularly smart basketball. At this point a league playoff berth may be all there is to play for, with an overall mark of 5-8 a spot in the district tournament may well be out of reach. It's been quite a while since we failed to qualify for districts (2004) but only twelve of twenty-two schools in the "6A" classification make it and right now we're on the outside looking in. On Wednesday Jenny and I were together for our usual lunch date, on Thursday I went over to basketball practice to give the scorebooks to Coach Powell. The boys play another weekend back-to-back on Friday and Saturday but I am absent for my own back-to-backer (hockey-style) at the Arena. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 16

Off and running early on Monday morning for the annual 1:00 game on Martin Luther King Day at the Arena. Several years ago we started playing a game on MLK Day and it has proven very popular. The Royals split a pair of games in Elmira over the weekend, this game with the Jackals on home ice was effectively the rubber match of a 3-in-3. This was the third of the Jackals' five visits to Reading and the team has not been doing well lately, they have the worst record in the league and they recently fired their head coach. The Royals fell behind early but late in the first period goals by Matt Willows and Justin Crandall three minutes apart put the home team on top 2-1. Midway through the second Ryan Penny lit the lamp to up the lead to two, late in the period Elmira got it back to make it 3-2. The final period was scoreless until twelve minutes in, Robbie Czarnik's goal gave the Royals some breathing room. Justin Crandall struck again four minutes later, less than a minute after that Steven Swavely hit the empty net to put the wrapper on a 6-2 Royals win. Martin Ouellette was the goaltender of record as the club hits the halfway point of the season at 21-13-2, 11-5-0 at the Arena. The ECHL All-Star Game is in Glens Falls on the 18th, Justin Crandall is the Royals' representative. League play resumes on the 20th with a Friday/Saturday back-to-backer at the Arena, Adirondack visits on the 20th and Wheeling comes in the next night. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 13-15

Friday lunch with Jenny at her place, in the evening we were at JPM for the start of a forgettable weekend in more ways than one. The Red Tornado finished the first half of the league schedule with a date against Hempfield. The JV squad continued its winning ways but the result of the varsity game was not as favorable. We lost 62-50 in a game that is hard to describe, we were never really out of it but then it never felt like we were ever really in it either. All night long it seemed like something good was going to happen but it simply never did. Ricky Cruz had another solid night with 23 points but no one else reached double figures. On Saturday we reconvened at the school at 2:30 for a non-league road game (thus the reason for the rare Friday lunch in Quarryville), the destination was one hundred-thirty miles north in Williamsport (best known as the home of the Little League World Series). There was sleet and snow in the forecast, on Route 15 between Selinsgrove and Lewisburg we were slowed down by road crews salting the highway. Our bus driver was planning to stay on 15 all the way to Williamsport, I convinced him to go east on Interstate 80 and pick up I-180 instead. I figured an interstate road would likely be in better shape and we would avoid the hilly areas on 15 approaching Williamsport. My father was from Elmira, New York and I can't count the number of times we made the trip through Williamsport on family vacations either coming or going, on this occasion my knowledge of the area came in handy because using I-180 proved to be the right move. We arrived at the school about thirty minutes before the scheduled 6:00 start time, the JV game required overtime before JPM prevailed 75-69. The varsity game was another exercise in frustration as we lost 72-65. The club put forth a stronger effort but a game against a tough opponent in their gym is never easy and turnovers at crucial times were a killer. Three players hit double figures (Ricky Cruz 19, Isiah Speller 15, R.J. Godwin 12) but it's all just so much eyewash when you lose the game. The record stands at 5-7 overall and 4-3 in the league, the next game is at home on Tuesday the 17th. We weren't back in Lancaster until almost 1:00 Sunday morning, Sunday itself was typically quiet except for a morning visit to the local ER. Over the last week or so I have had an annoyingly persistent cough that simply refuses to go away and I decided enough was enough. They took a chest X-ray and told me I have a tough of bronchitis, they prescribed antibiotics which I got started on right away so hopefully this thing goes "bye-bye" before too long. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 9-12

Monday morning lunch at the mall started the week in the accustomed manner, on Tuesday afternoon we convened at McCaskey for the short ride to Manheim Township HS in Neffsville. The boys split a pair of games in my absence over the weekend, they won at Warwick on Friday and lost to Reading High at home on Saturday. For me personally this was my first time on the bus since December 17 when we went to Chester, I missed each of the last two road games because of hockey. The Red Tornado JV squad lost its first game of the season on Saturday, on this night they got back on the plus side and stayed unbeaten in league play with a 47-44 win. The varsity game was your typical knock-down drag-out fight to the finish, JPM emerged victorious 67-65. We trailed by five at the half but turned on the jets in the third quarter to take an eight-point lead into the fourth. MT didn't fold their tents (not that anyone expected them to), they fought back to tie the score with eleven seconds left in regulation. On the ensuing possession a Township player was called for a holding foul, with four seconds showing on the clock William Joseph calmly sank both free throws to give us a two-point advantage. MT had an inbound play after a timeout but a last-second shot fell way short as JPM held on for the crucial heart-stopping victory. Coach Powell used eight players and seven of them scored including four in double figures: Isiah Speller led with 17, Ricky Cruz 15, William Joseph 14 and Jathan Gonzalez 13. The club's mark stands at 5-5 overall and 4-2 within the league. Had lunch with Jenny on Wednesday and ran a morning errand run on Thursday, the middle of the week was otherwise quiet but the weekend should be busy. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 6-8

There was a dusting of snow overnight into Friday, reports of slick driving in the early morning were all over the Internet but by afternoon conditions were much improved. Friday night was Hockey Night in downtown Reading as the Royals played at home for the first time in 2017. The Adirondack Thunder was in town for a weekend back-to-back, the second and third of their six games at the Arena. The Royals came out smoking in the Friday opener, Steven Swavely's goal just nineteen seconds in made it 1-0. The Thunder tied it late in the period, midway through the second Chris McCarthy lit the lamp to put the Royals back up 2-1. Late in the period ADK knotted it once again, the decisive third period was just about all Thunder. Adirondack took their first lead of the night seven minutes into it, an empty-netter in the closing moments clinched a 4-2 win for the Thunder. Martin Oullette (back from the Phantoms) made his first Royals appearance since November 27 and took the tough-luck loss. On Saturday we were back for game #2 and for a while things were eerily familiar. For a second straight night the Royals struck at the nineteen-second mark, on this occasion it was Ryan Penny doing the honors making it 1-0. ADK tied the score in quick order but the Royals answered on Matt Wilkins' goal to go up 2-1. The Royals took a two-goal lead in the second on a score by Derik Johnson, an ADK goal midway through the period brought the visitors to within one. Moments later the Royals were killing a penalty when Ian Watters got a breakaway opportunity and put it home to make it 4-2. The Thunder made it close with an early goal in the third but from there Austin Lotz and the defense shut it down as the Royals picked up the crucial 4-3 decision. The club's record stands at 19-12-2, 10-5 at home. The boys play two on the road before returning home for the annual Martin Luther King day game on Monday the 16th at 1:00. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 1-5

2017 started on a typically quiet Sunday, on Monday the atmosphere at the mall was somewhat subdued with most of the schools back in from the holiday recess. In the evening we were at McCaskey for the first of back-to-back home dates, Harrisburg was the opponent for a non-league encounter. Over the years we've have controversy in games against "the Burg" yet strangely none of it has ever occurred in our gym, make of that what you will. Harrisburg is traditionally one of the top programs in the area and a game with them is never a "gimme", on this night we trailed by twenty at half and ultimately lost 77-60. Ricky Cruz had a big night with 29 points, Isiah Speller had 14 and R.J. Godwin added 10 but it wasn't nearly enough to avoid the season's fourth loss. On Tuesday Conestoga Valley made the short bus ride from the suburbs as league play continued. The Red Tornado JV squad remained unbeaten (they had also defeated Harrisburg on Monday), in the main event JPM got back on the plus side with a 79-58 verdict that was a lot tougher than the score would indicate. We were ahead by six at the half and ten after three quarters, in the fourth the club was able to pull away. Ricky had another monster night with 30 points, Greg Nunez was the only other Red Tornado in double figures with 12. The club's mark stands at 2-2 within the league and 3-4 overall. the boy are back in action with another back-to-backer on Friday and Saturday. Wednesday was the fourth day of the month which I understand has some significance because of something that happened in 1957 (but you really couldn't prove anything to me), I spent late morning/early afternoon with Jenny at her place. On Thursday I took the basketball scorebooks over to practice so the coaches would have them for the weekend, I am absent for ice hockey in Reading. Take care, thanks for reading.