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.