October 25-26

Wednesday was quiet except for the morning errand run, on Thursday Jenny and I did our usual midweek lunch a day later than normal. The reason for that was because it was a hockey night at the Arena in downtown Reading. The Toledo Walleye provided the opposition making the first of their two regular-season visits. The Walleye did not play in Reading during the '16-'17 season, this was their first appearance at the Arena since the opening round of the 2016 playoffs when the Royals prevailed in seven games. This was the first of six home dates on the schedule against non-divisional opponents, Toledo is the only one of those appearing more than once. The Royals fell behind 1-0 early on, in the second period newcomer Mark Naclerio (second-year pro from Brown University) scored on a breakaway to knot the score 1-1. Midway through the period Toledo regained the lead, five minutes into the third the Walleye went up 3-1. Two minutes later the Royals began the comeback, Chris McCarthy tipped in a shot by Chase Golightly to make it 3-2. Toledo took a penalty on the ensuing faceoff, on the power play McCarthy struck again to tie the game at 3-3. For a third consecutive game at the Arena we went into overtime, on this night there was another dose of Royals Magic. In the final minute a Toledo defender lost possession of the puck behind his net, Ryan Penny found Alex Krushelnyski in front for the slam-dunk GWG with thirty-three seconds left on the clock. Mark Dekanich picked up the decision in net as the club improves to 3-0-0, all at home and all in extra time. The boys stay home to host Adirondack on Sunday the 29th before hitting the road for a five-game stretch. Take care, thanks for reading.