October 28-29

Saturday lunch with Jenny was the extent of that day's activities, overnight into Sunday a chilly front with rain moved through the region. It was a hockey day in downtown Reading, the Royals closed out their four-game season-opening homestand with a 4:00 visit from the Adirondack Thunder. Overtime was required in each of the first three games but on this day the result was never really in doubt. Goals in the first four minutes by Steven Swavely (the local product recently reassigned from the AHL Phantoms) and Ryan Penny staked the Royals to an early 2-0 lead. The Thunder got one back but a late score from Nolan Zajac made it 3-1 at the intermission. In the second the Royals bagged three in a row, defenseman Chase Golightly (a late-season addition in March of '17) scored his first as a Royal followed by Penny's second of the day and a power-play strike from Derek Whitmore to make it 6-1. ADK got back on the board but another tally by Alex Kryshelnyski gave the Royals a five-goal lead after two. Each team netted two scores in the third, the Royals' first coming courtesy of newcomer Tyler Brown (seven-year pro who played for the Phantoms from 2011-2014 when the franchise was based in Glens Falls). At the twelve-minute mark Ryan Penny gave the fans an opportunity to throw their hats, he put the wrap on the 9-4 win with his first hat-trick as a professional. John Muse (unsurprisingly known to his teammates as "Moose") picked up his second win of the season as the club improves to 4-0-0 in the early going. The boys play their next five on the road, they return home to host the brand-new Jacksonville Icemen on November 11. Take care, thanks for reading.