March 1-3

The third month of 2017 began on a Wednesday and that meant lunch with Jenny in Quarryville. They say March is supposed to come in like a lion but on this day temperatures topped out at 69 degrees. The morning errand run was the extent of Thursday activities, on Friday The Lion finally arrived (albeit two days late) with windy conditions and a daytime high of 37. It was a hockey night in Reading as the Royals hosted the Manchester Monarchs in the fifth of the Mons' seven scheduled visits to the arena. The Royals entered play having lost five of their last seven on home ice, on this night that dropped to six of eight in the form of a frustrating one-goal defeat. Ryan Penny gave the Royals a 1-0 lead late in the first period. midway through the game the Monarchs evened it at 1-1. Mike Pereira's score with six minutes left in the period to put the Royals back ahead but Manchester answered back with two of their own, the second coming with eight seconds left to go up 3-2. Neither team found the net in the third as the Mons held on for the win, Martin Ouellette was the goalie of record. The club's record stands at 32-21-3, 16-12 at home. The homestand continues on Saturday (the Monarchs again) and Sunday (vs Norfolk), Sunday is actually a doubleheader with the annual Battle Of The Badges game at 1:30. Can you say BUSY? Take care, thanks for reading.