January 29-31

Overnight into Tuesday we had another small round of wintry precipitation, the morning commute was wet but tolerable. In the afternoon we convened at McCaskey for the bus ride to Lititz. The boys lost to Warwick by two points at home on the 5th (I was absent because of hockey in Reading), on this night JPM lost 62-53. If a highlight video of this season were produced it could just as well be the video of this game because it was the perfect representation of how the season has gone. The club put forth a spirited effort, battled to the bitter end, made crucial mistakes at inopportune moments and came up short for the seventeenth time in twenty games (the only thing missing was the questionable officiating, on this night it wasn't great but it wasn't egregious either). The league record falls to 3-9 with eight of the losses by ten points or less. There comes a time when you can't say anything more because there isn't anything more to say. The boys play at Manheim Township on Friday the 2nd and host Hempfield on the 6th to close out the season. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 26-28

Friday night at McCaskey as the boys hosted Conestoga Valley. We lost to CV by one point the first time around, on this night we lost in overtime 69-61. This was the team's nineteenth game but only my twelfth since I missed seven due to hockey in Reading. There is no question that the season has been frustrating but this is the first time all season that I felt personally angry at a game's result. It isn't the loss or the fact that it took OT but the way that it happened. It hurts to sit there and watch our guys battle to the end and be unrewarded because the key call at the key moment consistently goes the other way. The league we play in began in 1972, we've been a member school the entire time and our program has NEVER been given any breaks where officiating is concerned. It's been that way for forty-six years and in this supposedly enlightened age we live in one would think things would have gradually improved but it never has. The hell of it is that we know WHY it is but if you say it you're accused of "playing that card". A few years ago we played a league playoff game against a school from another section (and as such a very infrequent opponent), we won easily and all night long all their coaches kept saying to the referees was "Hey, just because they're McCASKEY doesn't mean you have to give them all the breaks. I mean, JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE McCASKEY........!!!!". I sat there thinking to myself that those guys simply didn't know a damn thing about McCaskey if they actually believed the bunk they were saying. Anyone who has followed our program with any attention has seen instance after instance where our guys are called for violations that are uncalled when the opponents do the same thing. On offense we get blocked and it's called a charge, on defense we take a charge and it's called a block. One of our guys makes a move to the basket, gets knocked to the floor and no call is made while at the other end the slightest touch is whistled. The game is tough enough when it's 5-on-5, when you have to go 5-on-8 it's impossible. Maybe someday things will be different but I don't know if I'll live to see it. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 24-25

Wednesday lunch in Quarryville, in the afternoon we made our way north for the final Royals home date in January. The Toledo Walleye visited back in October, on this night they were back in for the last of their two regular-season appearances. The game in October required overtime before the Royals emerged victorious, this game also went beyond regulation but it shouldn't have. Matt Wilkins gave the Royals a 1-0 lead late in the first period, in the second Nick Luukko found the net followed by Wilkins' second of the game. Late in the period the Walleye got on the board, that 3-1 Royals lead held up into the final minute of regulation play. Toledo pulled  the goalie for the extra attacker and made it 3-2 with fifty-nine seconds left, the Walleye kept the pressure on and tied the game with eleven seconds showing on the clock. Overtime failed to resolve the matter, for the second time in three home dates an overtime shootout was required. Michael Huntebrinker connected on the Royals' first opportunity while Toledo failed on three shots against winning goaltender John Muse as the club picked up an important 4-3 victory. The record stands at 23-18-2, 16-8 at home. Over the next seven weeks the boys play fourteen of eighteen on the road, a six-game trip begins on the 26th. The club returns home for four games in seven days from February 16 to 22 before heading back out for an eight-game swing, the next home date after that is on March 14. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 22-23

The basketball team at JPM concluded its nonleague schedule over the weekend with a 63-60 loss to Central Dauphin East, the game was on Saturday night as part of a showcase event at Reading High School. The boys finished 0-8 against some of the better competition in the eastern half of the state, the average margin of defeat was just a tad over thirteen points. There are schools in our league who routinely play nonleague games against schools from other divisions within the league itself, JPM has always gone outside the league and outside the district itself. A loss is a loss no matter where it happens but the fact that our club held its own against the teams we played is encouraging for the future. On Tuesday night we were back in league play as we traveled to Millersville for a date with Penn Manor. The downbeat continued with another close loss, the final on this night was 53-50. This is the club's seventh loss in the division, they have come by a combined 48 points. We're three games deep into the second half and we're 1-1 against each opponent. The club's final four games are against opponents we lost to the first time around by a combined 23 points. Trying to put a positive spin on a 3-15 record might seem superficial but the fact is the team has for the most part been competitive and they have never backed down from any challenge. The boys climb back on the horse at home on Friday against Conestoga Valley. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 20-21

Had Saturday lunch with Jenny, in the evening I was back at the Arena but she and her mother were not. They have relatives in Florida and Arizona who came in for the weekend, between a Saturday supper date and an early-morning wakeup call on Sunday to visit other relatives in New Jersey they were absent from both games. The Brampton Beast were the opponent for a back-to-back set, in the Saturday opener goals by Derek Whitmore and James de Haas gave the Royals a 2-0 lead in the first six minutes. The Beast rallied to tie the score at the intermission, another Brampton goal made it 3-2 after two periods. Early in the third Brian Morgan lit the lamp to knot it at 3-3, from there the game proceeded through overtime with no resolution. For the first time since November of 2015 a game at the Arena required an overtime shootout, the Royals outscored the Beast two goals to none to claim the 4-3 win (the first shootout win at home for the Royals since April of '15). John Muse stopped forty-seven shots plus the two he saw in the shootout to pick up the victory. In the Sunday rematch Frank Hora gave the Royals an early lead but the Beast took control with three in the second and one more in the third. New addition Mark Bennett (third-year pro from Union College) got the Royals within two but a Brampton empty-netter salted it away at 5-2, Mark Dekanich was the goalie of record. The club's mark stands at 22-18-2 (15-8 at home), the boys host Toledo on the 24th to finish the home portion of the January schedule. Talked to Jenny in the evening, she and her mother made it home from New Jersey safe and sound. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 15-19

The new week started as usual with morning lunch at the mall, overnight into Tuesday we had another round of the ugly white stuff. Schools were closed all over the area with athletic events a casualty as well, our Tuesday night game at Cedar Crest was postponed until Thursday, This set up a three-in-three for the boys with a home game on Friday and a neutral-court game at Reading High set for Saturday. One of the more popular forms of humor over the years has been the "good news/bad news" joke, the first two games of the gauntlet were a great example. On Thursday we traveled into Lebanon County for the game at Cedar Crest, we lost to them by fifteen on our floor back in December and there probably wasn't anybody who would have bet ten cents on our guys this time around. We were down by three at the quarter and one at halftime, entering the final period we had a two-point lead. CC rallied to lead by one in the closing seconds, with two seconds remaining Brian McKenzie hit a fifteen-foot jump shot to put us back ahead. Cedar Crest immediately called timeout and diagramed an inbounds plays which was successfully defended as the buzzer sounded. The stunning 55-54 win is JPM's third of the season (and only the third loss overall for CC) and for a young team that has taken its lumps it's a very rewarding victory to say the least. All of that was the "good news", the "bad news" came the next night at home. We hosted Lebanon and lost 70-63. We had beaten them in their gym in December so for a second straight night it was a case of tit-for-tat. Lebanon had two players combine to score fifty-two of their seventy points (32 and 20 respectively), JPM used ten players and everybody got into the scoring column. The club's mark stands at 3-13 overall and 3-6 within the league, the six losses have been by an average of 7.5 points. If we were being destroyed by thirty every night it would be much more discouraging but this team and these players have never given up. Within the league we have lost by fifteen to CC, by ten each to MT and Hempfield (those teams are the top three in the division) and by seven, two and one. The boys have five games left within the league and six overall, the next time I'm with them is Tuesday the 23rd in Millersville against Penn Manor. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 12-14

Sometimes you just have to shake your head in disbelief. One weekend ago we were in The Deep Freeze, on Friday the 12th temperatures reached into the 60s before the cold returned on Saturday. Friday night at the Arena saw the Royals in action as the Adirondack Thunder visited for the last of their seven regular-season appearances. On this night the offensive highlights for the Royals were in short supply as they suffered a 3-0 defeat. The Thunder scored once in each period and held the Royals off the board completely, it's the first time the club was zeroed at home since New Years Eve 2014 (a 4-0 loss to the late, lamented Elmira Jackals). That game was the first and only time the Royals have played at home on NYE, perhaps that result played a role in the fact that we haven't done it since. The loss drops the club's record to 20-16-2 overall and 14-7 at the Arena, the boys are back home on the 20th for a double-dip with Bramptom. Overnight into Saturday temperatures dropped into the mid-20s, better than thirty degrees lower than the day before. At 1:00 we convened at McCaskey for a bus ride west across the Susquehanna, the destination was York High School. This was originally a showcase event which somehow became a rare JV/varsity doubleheader on a neutral floor, Williamsport was our opponent (for the record York hosted Harrisburg in their own JV/varsity set after we were done). To say the season has been subpar is an understatement, on this day the JV squad lost for the seventh consecutive game and the varsity's winless streak reached nine with a 72-63 loss. The club played minus two starters due to injury and illness, we had only nine men in uniform and they all got into the scoring column. The record falls to 2-12 which is obviously not good but the team's effort cannot truly be faulted, the guys battled to the bitter end. We all knew that this season was going to be one giant educational experience, we can only hope that the future bodes well thanks to lessons learned. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 10-11

Wednesday night hockey at the Arena as the Worcester Railers returned for a third consecutive appearance. When teams oppose one another as frequently as these have (four times in eight days including a game in Worcester) one would expect the hate factor to be well-established but on this night there were just two minor penalties called, one against each club. The Railers scored first before Nolan Zajac replied for the Royals, in the second period the clubs again traded scores with Chris McCarthy lighting the lamp for the home team. The 2-2 tie was broken midway through the third on a goal by Alex Krushelnyski (back from a stint with the Phantoms), in the closing moments Matt Willows hit the empty net to clinch the 4-2 victory for winning goalie John Muse. The Royals improve to 14-6 at home and 20-15-2 overall, we're back home on the 12th to host Adirondack. Not much happening on Thursday outside of the usual morning run and an afternoon visit to basketball practice at McCaskey to drop off the scorebooks since I'll be absent from the game on Friday. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 8-9

Monday morning lunch at the mall started the week in the accustomed manner, on Tuesday evening it was a basketball night at McCaskey. The boys played and lost two games over the weekend in my absence, on this night Manheim Township visited for the sixth divisional game of the season. Before the game MT's head coach told me he watched the tape of our home game from the previous Friday for scouting purposes and didn't hear me on the PA, he was concerned my absence might have been health-related. I explained that it was due to "professional obligations" (as I refer to it), thus far there have been five such instances with two remaining on the 12th and 20th. On this night the JV squad suffered a fourth consecutive loss, the varsity's losing streak reached seven with a 70-60 defeat despite three players reaching double figures: Tallian Lehr had a season-high 18, Isiah Speller added 14 and Eddie Simmons had 10. The club stands at 2-4 within the league and 2-10 overall. This season is no longer about wins and losses (to be honest, I'm not sure it ever was), it's about gaining experience and building for the future. They say high school sports runs in cycles but it's been some time since the program has had consecutive seasons below .500. The boys have another two-game weekend upcoming, I'm absent Friday but good for the game on Saturday. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 6-7

The Deep Freeze was still around on Saturday as we returned to downtown Reading for game #2 of our busy weekend. The Royals had played in Worcester on Wednesday and won thanks to an OTGWG from Matt Willows, on this night the Railers visited for the first of a back-to-back set at the Arena. The Royals took an early 1-0 lead on a score by Ryan Penny, midway through the second period Worcester pulled even. With six minutes left in regulation time Chris McCarthy put the Royals ahead but it didn't last, the Railers replied a minute later to knot it at 2-2. In the closing moments Worcester got a break into the zone and scored the game-winner with twenty-two seconds on the clock. Mark Dekanich was the goalie of record and deserved a better fate. On Sunday it was more comfortable (if temperatures in the upper teens can be considered comfortable) largely because the winds were much lighter and the chill factor was more tolerable. We reconvened at the arena for the rematch from Saturday and on this day it was all Royals. Chris McCarthy scored in the game's second minute and Ryan Penny scored twice as the Royals took it 3-0, John Muse stopped 28 shots for his second shutout of the season and the team's third. The Royals hit the midpoint of the home schedule (game #18) on Saturday and the season's overall midpoint (game #36) on Sunday, the record stands at 19-15-2 and 13-6 at home. The next home game is on Wednesday the 10th when Worcester returns for round three (or round four if you count the game in Worcester). In many ways I'm lucky to be writing this post, on the way home I was nearly involved in not one but TWO automobile collisions not of my making. We were southbound on 222 north of the turnpike when a tractor-trailer in the left lane decided he wanted into the right lane despite the fact that I WAS ALREADY IN IT. I had to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid being hit, the guy either didn't know I was next to him or he didn't CARE. After I had Jenny and Helen home safely I was coming back to town when I saw a car approaching from the other direction. This fool swerved into my lane, back into his lane and onto the shoulder crashing into the guardrail. That didn't even slow him down, he swerved back onto the road crossing right in front of me and crashing into the guardrail on that side of the road. This all happened in the span of about ten seconds, as he was swerving I was doing likewise and hoping to hell I was guessing right. After he passed me and hit the second guardrail he incredibly kept right on going and I never saw him again. My mother gave up driving about six months ago and she says today she has no desire to ever drive again, stuff like this makes me question it myself. Take care (look who's saying that to who), thanks for reading.

January 5

The round of precipitation we had on Thursday ushered in brutal cold and wind chills, Friday was bitterly uncomfortable and it's supposed to linger through the weekend. Jenny and her mother were considering staying home from the hockey game because of it but the walk from the garage to the Arena isn't terribly far so they decided to tough it out. Friday's game started a three-in-three weekend, the Brampton Beast were in town for the first time since the 2017 playoffs. In hockey it's often been said that a rivalry never truly exists until the clubs have met in a playoff scenario, in 2017 the Royals lost to Brampton in the first round. On this night the Royals struck first on Derek Whitmore's first-period tally, early in the second the Beast evened the score. Three minutes later Ryan Penny restored the advantage, Chris McCarthy's goal eight minutes after that made it 3-1 at the intermission. Brampton cut the lead to one in the late going of the third period but from there John Muse and the defense corps held the fort for the 3-2 win. It was a very quiet game in terms of penalty calls, there were only two all night and both were against Brampton. The Royals improve to 18-14-2 overall and 12-5 at home, the Worcester Railers come in for a back-to-back on Saturday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 1-4

2018 began (somewhat appropriately) on a Monday, I marked the occasion with lunch at the mall and the traditional college football games on TV. On Tuesday we were back at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Coatesville in a non-league matchup. From the very start it's been apparent that this season is about building blocks as the club's non-league mark fell to 0-5 with an 85-77 loss. This is a young team as varsity squads go but one thing we saw on this night was its heart, in the third quarter we trailed by as many as nineteen but the guys fought to the end and never folded their tents. This is the whole point of playing a difficult non-league schedule: some teams play easy opposition, pad their record and look better than they really are while JPM schedules the toughest teams it can get, takes its lumps and (hopefully) learns from the experience. We had three players in double figures on this night as Makai Ortiz continued his emergence with 17, Jahsaan Greaves added 13 and Brian McKenzie checked in with 11. The boys are back on the floor on Friday the 5th in league play where they are 2-2 and very much in the running for the postseason with ten games to play. On Wednesday Jenny and I had our usual midweek lunch date, overnight into Thursday we had another helping of the white stuff. There was a major storm system moving up the coast which was expected to reek havoc further north, around here we got about an inch or two of the light powdery variety. Extreme temperature and wind chill warnings were up all over the area, I got my morning run finished and was glad to be home. All day long I kept receiving internet greetings for something that happened in 1957 but I'm long since past caring about it, to me January 4 is just another day. Take care, thanks for reading.