February 27-28

Made the usual Monday morning pilgrimage to the mall for lunch, in the evening I made the eight-mile drive north from the city to Warwick HS in Lititz. The JPM girls were playing for the opportunity to advance to the state tournament, the opponent was Dallastown from York County. When I arrived I stopped by the scorers table to say hello to the staff, the PA guy commented on my absence when the boys played there in January (I was absent for a Royals game that night). Warwick's athletic director invited me to visit the hospitality room they had set up for staff and media even though I was there in no official capacity (like at Manheim Township, it pays to have a good reputation). The game itself was a good battle and our girls prevailed 40-36, that guarantees a spot in states as either the #5 or #6 seed from the district. The game started at 6:30 and was followed by a boys game at 8:00 but I didn't hang around for any of that because to me it was completely irrelevant (as I said once before: If We Ain't There I Don't Care). On Tuesday morning my mother needed a driver for a morning eye doctor appointment, after we had lunch I stopped at the local sub shop and ordered my usual lunch for supper. In the evening the Royals finished their suspended game in Elmira and won 4-3, the boys start a busy weekend at the Arena on Friday the 3rd. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 23-26

The latter part of the week was uneventful except for Saturday lunch with Jenny, on Sunday we were back at the Arena for hockey under very unusual circumstances. Earlier in the month one of Reading's more celebrated civic leaders passed away, his memorial service was held on this day in the arena because of the expected huge turnout. It was set for 1:00, the hockey game was pushed back to 6:00 to accommodate it. We arrived at 4:00, at that point the service had been over for only a short time. The arena crew was busy installing the glass and getting ready to remove the floor from the ice, I was informed that game time had been pushed back an extra hour to 7:00. The Greenville Swamp Rabbits were the opponent, back in town fresh from a Friday/Saturday set in Norfolk. The Royals entered the night on a two-game slide (a Wednesday loss to Greenville at home and a Friday L in Glens Falls), on this night the downbeat reached three with another frustrating loss. Greenville scored first and carried that 1-0 lead into the second period, Olivier Labelle's goal early on tied the game at one each. The Rabbits retook the lead but scores by Mike Marcou (back in the lineup after an extended injury absence) and Mike Pereira gave the Royals a 3-2 advantage at the game's midpoint. From there the game turned on a dime, two Greenville scores thirty seconds apart late in the period put the Royals behind and two more in the third put the punctuation on a 6-3 Greenville win. Martin Ouellette was the goalie of record as the club's mark drops to 31-20-3, 16-11-0 at home. The Royals are at the three-quarter pole for the season, fifty-four games played equally divided between home and road. They travel to Elmira on the 28th for the completion of that suspended game, the next home date is Friday March 3 which begins a three-in-three at home for that weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 20-22

Monday lunch at the mall as usual, in the evening I was at McCaskey. The girls' basketball team hosted Hempfield in a first-round district playoff, one of those sudden-death "win or it's over" games. JPM earned the right to host it by being the higher seed but there were no guarantees because Hempfield had won in our gym on the last night of the league season. If there were any lingering effects from the loss in the league title game they were quickly eliminated as the Red Tornado took command early and never let up on the way to a decisive 48-25 victory. The win puts the girls in tough against Cedar Crest (AGAIN) in the second round, that game is in Cornwall on Thursday the 23rd. The morning errand run was all that happened on Tuesday, the next day was our regular lunch visit with Jenny in Quarryville. In the evening we were at the Arena in downtown Reading, the Royals hosted the Greenville Swamp Rabbits for the first of their two appearances. The club's three-game winning streak ended on this night in frustrating fashion. The Rabbits jumped out a 3-0 lead after one period, in the second the Royals climbed back into it thanks to a pair of goals from Ian Watters. Early in the third Greenville went back up by two, Jesper Pettersson's score drew the Royals to within 4-3. In the closing minutes a Greenville player was fouled from behind with the Royals net empty, the resulting "awarded goal" made the final score 5-3. Mark Dekanich played the first period and was relieved by Martin Ouellette who suffered the loss. The club's drops to 31-18-3, 16-10-0 at home. The boys play in Glens Falls on Friday and have a rare Saturday off, the next home game is on Sunday the 26th. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 18-19

Saturday night at the Arena for our annual "Pink In The Rink" game, the Elmira Jackals were the opponent for the opener of a back-to-back set. The last time the Royals hosted a team with a poor record the results were not favorable, on this weekend things were different. In the Saturday opener newcomer Nathan Moom (a six-year pro from Belleville, Ontario) gave the Royals an early 1-0 lead, in the second period the Jackals evened it at 1-1. Derik Johnson replied quickly to reestablish the lead, moments later Mike Pereira made it 3-1 Royals. In the third period Matt Willows capped off the scoring, the final score 4-1 for winning goaltender Martin Ouellette. On Sunday morning the arena's rink crew removed the pink layer of ice, when we arrived in the afternoon the traditional pile of pink snow was in the railroad bed outside the arena. The game started at 4:00 (one hour earlier than the Sunday norm), on this day on the clean white ice the Royals made it two straight over Elmira with a 2-0 decision. Tyrell Goulbourne lit the lamp in the first period, early in the third Ryan Penny extended the lead and that was all Mark Dekanich needed. Dek stopped all thirty-three shots he faced for his first shutout of the season and the second for the club (the since-departed Drew Fielding zeroed Elmira at the Arena on December 28). The weekend sweep improves the Royals' mark to 31-17-3, 16-9-0 at the Arena. The boys are at home on Wednesday the 22nd against Greenville. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 13-17

Not much going on during this week, the LL boys' basketball playoffs were taking place but since we're not involved I couldn't have cared less (I'm provincial that way: "if we ain't there I don't care"). Had Monday lunch at the mall and Wednesday lunch with Jenny, the only other event of note was on Thursday evening. The McCaskey girls' basketball team qualified for league playoffs and earned their way to the league title game, it was played (as it has been for the last several years) at Manheim Township HS. When I arrived I had planned on buying a ticket like any other fan but an MT school official I've known for many years saw me and discreetly waved me over to the door (It's always nice to be respected for having a good reputation). JPM's overall mark going in was 17-7 but they were in tough against Cedar Crest at 24-0. CC beat JPM twice during the regular year by margins of twenty and sixteen, I'm sure many expected this game to be of little consequence but on this night a different kind of game was in store. Our girls did not win but they gave CC all they could handle before finally falling 49-43. The girls begin district playoff on Monday the 20th, as the higher seed they play at home against Hempfield (!!!). The winner of that game advances to the quarterfinal round against (nobody else but) Cedar Crest (as a top-four seed they earned a bye in the first round). I always thought the idea of a district tournament was to play somebody different but apparently that's just me. The Royals played in Glens Falls on Tuesday night and won via OT shootout, on Friday they were in Elmira for a game that started but didn't finish. Play was halted after sixteen minutes because a section of the ice cracked rendering it unplayable. As a result the teams got an early start on their respective trips to Reading, we host the Jackals on Saturday and Sunday. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 11-12

Earlier in the week I was contacted by longtime friend Phil Zangari, the APBA baseball league he founded in 1977 was having its annual draft on Saturday morning. I played in the league the first six years it existed, whenever I'm available to help out at the draft it runs smoother for the other guys (plus it gives us a chance to renew acquaintances). The draft usually happens in March but the previous season ended early and nobody wanted to wait. When it was over I headed to Jenny's place, we had a late lunch/early supper at the local sub shop. From there it was back to the city for a quick shower, then on to Reading for a hockey night at the Arena. The Norfolk Admirals were in town for a back-to-back set comprising their first two of five visits for the season. The Ads came in with one of the league's poorer records but you would never have known it by the weekend's results. On Saturday Norfolk scored the first two goals and made them stand for a 2-1 decision, Olivier Labelle accounted for the Royals' lone score as Mark Dekanich (making his first start at home since December 21) suffered the tough-luck loss. On Sunday the clubs met again, another event earlier in the day required this game to be pushed back to 7:00 instead of the usual 5:00 faceoff. On this night the Royals scored first thanks to Johnny McInnis but the Ads bagged the next three and carried a 3-1 advantage in to the third period. Midway through the period McInnins struck again to bring the Royals within one, Norfolk replied with two more (one into the empty net) to go up by three. Tyrell Goulbourne lit the lamp in the dying seconds but it wasn't enough to avoid a 5-3 loss, Martin Ouellette was the goalie of record. The lost weekend extends the losing streak to three games and drops the club's mark to 28-17-3, 14-9-0 at home. The boys return home for a back-to-back with Elmira on Saturday the 18th. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 9-10

The predicted snowfall arrived overnight, by the time I was out in the morning it was over. It amounted to much less than was forecast but it was still enough to make a mess, it took several minutes to clear the snow and ice from the car before I headed out for lunch. In the afternoon I went south for Jenny and her mother, there were areas of snow blowing and drifting (not unusual for the southern half of the county which is largely rural). On this night we had our lone Thursday home game at the Arena as the South Carolina Stingrays made their only regular-season visit. The Royals came in on a six-game winning streak (3-0-0 on the last road swing) but that would end on this night in a tough 5-4 loss. The 'Rays scored first midway through the opening period, moments later Justin Crandall found the net to knot the score. Early in the middle frame SC retook the lead, just past the period's midpoint Matt Wilkins and Tyrell Goulbourne lit the lamp ten seconds apart to put the Royals up 3-2. The Stingrays tied the score late in the period and went back ahead early in the third, nine minutes into the period Mike Pereira (back in the lineup after an extended injury absence) pulled the Royals back even. Just over a minute after that SC scored to take the lead they would not relinquish, in the closing moments the Royals pressed for the equalizer but were held at bay. Martin Ouellette was the goalie of record as the club's mark drops to 28-15-3, 14-7-0 at home. The boys stay home for games on Saturday and Sunday against Norfolk. The drive home was of little concern despite the wind and drifting snow, I merely stuck to the main roads and eschewed my usual shortcuts (although I was more than happy to be home once I got there). Friday featured a morning errand run, in the evening I did something I hadn't done on a Friday since December 2: I stayed in and did nothing because there was nothing to do. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 6-8

Monday morning at the mall for lunch, late Tuesday afternoon we convened at McCaskey for the final bus ride of the season. The last time we failed to qualify for districts was 2004, the last time we missed league playoffs was 2010 and the last time we were out of the postseason entirely was 1994 (that team went 6-15) so this was truly a lame-duck finale. Hempfield was the opponent and on this night the season ended on a downbeat note that really wasn't entirely surprising. The JV squad lost their game to finish at 13-6, a presentable record that is tarnished somewhat by four consecutive losses at the end. The varsity suffered its third straight defeat, their final mark checks in at 6-8 within the league and 7-14 overall. The club started 0-3, after ten games we were even at 5-5. Five consecutive losses followed and the team never recovered. This is only the fourth losing record we've had in Coach Powell's twenty-five years at the helm (and two of those were his first two seasons on the job), his overall record stands at 465-226 (a .673 winning percentage). The club had three players average in double figures: Ricky Cruz at 17.7 points per game, William Joseph at 11.2 and Jathan Gonzalez at 10.7 (Isiah Speller just missed the cut at 9.4). When we got back to McCaskey after the game the coaches had everybody report to the locker room to collect uniforms, all the better to put a forgettable season in the rear-view mirror. The Fall 2017 training camp should be very interesting, hopefully this season was just a hiccup but time will tell. On Wednesday Jenny and I had our usual lunch date, we'll be together again on Thursday for hockey at the Arena. That could interesting for other reasons, they are calling for snow overnight into Thursday. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 3-5

Friday night at McCaskey for the final home game of the season, Manheim Township was the opponent. The traditional Senior Night activities preceded the varsity game as we recognized Ricky Cruz, Jathan Gonzalez, Greg Nunez, William Joseph and Marcus Benning as members of the JPM class of 2017. The pregame kudos were easily the highlight of the night as both the JV and varsity lost, the varsity final was 78-58. The club had a very slim outside shot at a league playoff berth but this loss ended any hope of further contention. On Saturday we were back at it early, we departed at 10:30 for an afternoon game in Coatesville. This was originally scheduled as the first game of the season back in December, circumstances forced it to be reset for this day. We arrived at 11:40 for the 1:00 JV start and the events of this day were unfortunately more of the same. The JV lost handily and the varsity game wasn't much better, the final there was 94-69. For the JV it's just a matter of attrition, recently the club has only had eight or nine players in uniform and several have played varsity as well. The organization finishes its season on Tuesday the 7th and it has been a hell of a long time since a basketball season ended that early on the calendar. We got back to town around 5:00 or so, I immediately headed south for supper with Jenny since we had missed out on lunch. Sunday was quiet as usual, in the evening pro football's championship game was on TV. This game featured either the greatest comeback or worst collapse in the history of the sport, it all depends on your personal point of view. One thing is for sure: it will be talked about for years. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 30-February 2

The regular Monday morning lunch visit to the mall started the week. on Tuesday evening we were at McCaskey for a very unusual night of basketball. Warwick was the opponent, when I arrived I was informed that several of our players were going to be absent for various reasons (make of that what you will), as a result JV head coach Mike Mitchell had only five players available for his game. Varsity reserve Ramon Garcia was added as a sixth body, the JV squad battled with what they had but it wasn't enough to avoid their second loss within the league and third overall. The varsity was similarly shorthanded, with only six players available Coach Powell added the four JV players who weren't already on the varsity roster to the lineup. It all sounded like a recipe for disaster (especially the way this season has gone) but on this night we were treated to a remarkably spirited effort. They say chemistry plays a big role in any team's success, on this occasion for whatever reason it could not have been better. The game was tied at halftime, in the third quarter we built an eight-point lead and took it home from there 81-71. William Joseph scored a career-high 31, Jathan Gonzalez added a career-best 24 and Isiah Speller had 13 to round out the double-figures club. Three of the four JV players added got into the game, Ajani Simmons scored his first varsity point by making one-of-two at the foul line. The heartwarming (under the circumstances) victory improves the record to 6-6 within league play and 7-11 overall, the boys finish their home schedule on Friday the 3rd. Wednesday and Thursday were largely uneventful except for lunch with Jenny on Wednesday, that is always a highlight no matter what else happens. Take care, thanks for reading.