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.