Saturday, March 31, 2018
March 30-31
Friday night at the Arena for game #2 with Manchester, the last of the Monarchs' four regular-season visits. The Royals had won the Wednesday opener in resounding fashion, on this night one had to figure the Mons would come out with (as they say in hockey) "piss and vinegar" and that is exactly what happened. Manchester scored early, midway through and late in the first period, at the intermission the Royals trailed 3-0. In the second period Ryan Penny and Chris McCarthy scored seventeen seconds apart to make it a one-goal game, late in the frame Matt Willows struck to tie the score 3-3. In the third the Mons retook the lead midway through, in the closing moments Ryan Penny found the net to send the game into overtime. The issue was resolved in the OT shootout, Michael Huntebrinker recorded the lone marker while John Muse stopped all three shots he saw to claim the 5-4 win. The victory clinches a berth in the Kelly Cup playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, the last time the team missed the postseason was '08-09 when we had the worst record in the league. The club's record stands at 37-23-8 (23-10-1 at home), the next home game is April 4 versus Worcester. After the game I went upstairs on the concourse to meet up with Jenny and her mother as usual, the guys at the info booth told me Helen had taken ill during the second intermission and had gone to the local ER via ambulance (I didn't fault anyone for waiting until then to tell me, I couldn't have done anything about it during the game anyway). I went immediately to the ER where they were running a battery of tests. Helen has had heart problems in the past which is an obvious concern but she seemed in good spirits, Jenny was worried to the point of tears but that came as no surprise. The doctor wanted Helen to stay overnight for observation but she declined, she said she would call her family doctor on Saturday morning. They gave her papers detailing the tests they did so her doctor would know what happened, she was finally discharged around 1:30 and with it all I was home at a quarter-to-three (and there was no one in the place). Had our usual lunch date on Saturday, Helen said she felt fine so maybe it was just something she ate (who knows?). Take care, thanks for reading.
Thursday, March 29, 2018
March 29
There was some light rain overnight into Thursday, in the early afternoon I called the athletic office at McCaskey. The baseball team was scheduled for its home opener at 4:15, Jon Mitchell confirmed the JV game as a casualty to the weather but the varsity game was still on. For me it's the start of my third year on the mic, head coach Tyler Horst begins his fourth season as the field boss. The varsity roster features fifteen players, there are four seniors, ten juniors and one sophomore. On this day Reading High was the opponent for a nonleague contest which started poorly for the home team as RHS scored three runs in the first inning. The Red Tornado rebounded by batting around in the second inning and plating three of their own to tie the game. Returnees Dylan Esh and Jonathan "JoJo" Metzler started the rally with base hits, an RBI single by Seth Winters scored Esh to make it 3-1. Alex Polito grounded out for the first out of the inning, Evan Proulx walked to load the bases. Caleb McFarland was hit by the pitch to force Metzler home with the second run. Mason Lee's infield fly was caught for out #2, Alex Dominguez worked a bases-loaded walk to score Winters with the tying run. In the third Esh got things started with a leadoff double, he advanced to third on a hit by Winters and scored on an RBI groundout by Polito. That would prove to be the final run of the day as JPM held on for the 4-3 win. Seth Winters was the starting and winning pitcher, after the rocky first inning he settled down and retired eleven of the next twelve hitters he faced. Dylan Esh came on in relief in the sixth and picked up the save. It's always good to be back on the ballfield especially where it's about The Game and not the BS (been there, done that). The next home game is on April 4 but I am out because of ice hockey, my next ballgame is on Monday the 9th. Take care, thanks for reading.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
March 26-28
The early part of the week was a mixed bag in terms of weather, a sunshiny Monday was followed by rainy conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday evening we were back at the Arena as the Manchester Monarchs visited for the opener of a two-game set. The Royals' roster was bolstered earlier in the week with the return of Steven Swavely and John Muse from the Phantoms, on this night they both figured into a surprisingly one-sided victory. The Royals came out "guns a-blazing", Matt Wilkins scored forty-three seconds from the opening faceoff. Thirty-three seconds later Swavely lit the lamp, Chris McCarthy's goal twenty-seconds after that put the Royals up by three before many of the fans were in their seats. The three scores came within one minute of play and reminded me of that old breakfast cereal jingle: "they ate their Wheaties this morning". Late in the period Wilkins netted his second of the night, at the intermission the Royals led 4-0. In the second period Matias Cleland (first-year pro from the University of New Hampshire) scored on a rebound, moments later Adam Schmidt hustled in a shorthanded goal to make it 6-0 after two. The third period was scoreless but not uneventful, several of the Monarchs took the opportunity to leave calling cards for the rematch on Friday. The 6-0 win was the club's eighth whitewash of the season, the second consecutive at home and the third for John Muse in the ECHL (he also has one shutout in thirteen games played with the Phantoms). The Royals stand at 36-23-8, 22-10-1 at the Arena. The teams meet again on Friday evening and one must think it will not be dull. Take care, thanks for reading.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
March 23-25
Friday night at the Arena in downtown Reading, the Worcester Railers were in town for a two-game series. The Royals lost on Wednesday night in Manchester, on Friday Worcester snapped a 1-1 tie in the third period with three goals (the last into an empty net) to earn a 4-1 win. Chris McCarthy's score midway through the first period was the lone marker for the Royals, Brandon Komm took the loss in net. On Saturday the organization hosted the annual Autism Awareness night, the goal horn was not used and the music on the PA was kept at a lower level. I try to do my part by toning myself down as well although I don't feel I'm especially objectionable to begin with (I've always said that proper voice inflection beats "scarrrrrreeeeeeeemmmming aaaaannnnnnd yelllllllling" any day of the week, there are places where the PA guys utilize that style and it makes my ears bleed). The atmosphere may have been quieter but the fans still had a lot to cheer about on this night as the Royals avenged the Friday loss with a 3-0 win. The game was scoreless until five minutes into the second period when Brian Morgan cashed in on a breakaway, late in the period Mark Bennett found the net to make it 2-0. Early in the third Michael Huntebrinker scored the game's final goal but the action was far from over. In the closing moments a Worcester player took exception to a clean bodycheck and earned a fighting major and game misconduct. Mark Dekanich got the start in goal and picked up his third shutout and the team's seventh (Komm and John Muse have two apiece). The team's mark stands at 35-23-8, 21-10-1 at the Arena. The Manchester Monarchs come in for a two-game set on Wednesday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
March 19-22
Spring officially arrived at 12:45pm on Tuesday the 20th but Mother Nature didn't get the memo. Over the last several weeks there have been a number of storm systems moving along the coast, in our area the effect from them has largely been minimal. There was another system in the forecast for Tuesday night into Wednesday, on Tuesday morning Jenny was in town for a medical appointment. Given the forecast we decided to do our midweek lunch date a day early and it proved to be the right decision. The snow started to fall in the afternoon, by the time I was back in town from Jenny's place I was glad to be there. The brunt of it moved in overnight, on Wednesday morning the city had a snow emergency posted and I never got out of the house all day. On Thursday morning the storm system was long gone and brilliant sunshine helped to melt things down, I had no trouble getting the car cleaned and going out and about with no driving issues. According to the newspaper the official snowfall was fourteen inches but by Thursday afternoon what remained was mostly on grassy areas, the streets and parking lots around town were virtually dry. Better for it all to happen in midweek because the weekend will be busy. Take care, thanks for reading.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
March 17-18
Saturday night at the Arena, the Brampton Beast was in town for the last of their five regular-season appearances. It was a big night for the organization as former head coach Larry Courville's retired sweater number #22 received company in the rafters. It was joined by the #10 worn by former team captain Yannick Tifu as he was enshrined in the Royals Wall Of Honor. Tif turned pro in 2005 and was well-established in the ECHL by the time the Royals acquired him in 2011. He was the gritty in-your-face pain-in-the-butt type of player who is despised as an opponent and beloved as a teammate, it didn't take long for him to become very popular with the Royals fanbase. In 2013 the Royals won the Kelly Cup with him as captain and Larry as head coach. Yannick played with the Royals through the end of 2014, spent a season in France and returned for one last year in the fall of 2015, he stands as the third-leading scorer in club history. In the game itself the Royals fell behind early, within a minute Matt Wilkins responded to tie it 1-1. Goals by Brian Morgan and Adam Schmidt extended the lead to two at the intermission, midway through the second period Chris McCarthy lit the lamp to make it 4-1. The third period was scoreless until the final minute, Brampton pulled the goalie for an extra attacker and Adam Schmidt found the empty net. At that point Beast frustration boiled over, two Brampton players and one Royal (in self-defense) were assessed ten-minute misconduct penalties. Anthony Stolarz was the goaltender of record as his rehab assignment continues. The 5-1 decision improves the club's mark to 34-21-8, 20-9-1 at home. The Royals play a back-to-back with Worcester at home on March 23 and 24. Take care, thanks for reading.
Friday, March 16, 2018
March 14-16
Wednesday night hockey in downtown Reading for the first home game since February 22. The Royals held their own during a very difficult road-heavy portion of the schedule, on this night the Fort Wayne Komets made their lone visit of the season for a non-divisional contest. The Ks are one of minor league hockey's longest-tenured franchises, the club began in the old International Hockey League in 1952. This game was a roller-coaster ride from start to finish, the Royals took three one-goal leads and were caught each time. Matt Willows scored three minutes in to make it 1-0, the Komets tied it early in the second. Thirty seconds later newcomer Viktor Liljegren scored his first goal as a professional, he recently finished his college career at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY where he was team captain. Midway through the period Fort Wayne evened matters at 2-2, in the late going Willows struck again to put the Royals back ahead. Early in the third the Komets tied it 3-3, they took their first lead of the night midway through. The Royals fought back to tie it 4-4 on Adam Schmidt's goal with five minutes left, from there the game slipped into overtime. In the extra session Fort Wayne got a break into the offensive zone and netted the winner as the Royals lost in OT on home ice for the first time in '17-'18. The goaltender of record for the Royals was Anthony Stolarz, he is with the club on injury rehab assignment from the Flyers. Stolarz (aka Stolie The Goalie) was drafted in 2012 and turned pro in 2014, he has played since then for the AHL Phantoms and has seven NHL games with the Flyers on his resume as well. This was his first game action in eleven months and he looked a little rusty at times but that was to be expected, he'll probably play our next game on the 17th and be evaluated from there. The Royals stand at 33-21-8 (19-9-1 at home), they stay home to host Brampton on the 17th. Take care, thanks for reading.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
March 1-13
The first two weeks of the new month were as quiet as the last few days of the old one. With the Royals on the road and high school athletics between seasons there were no evening activities of any note, my usual morning meanderings and lunch visits with Jenny were about all that happened. We had some overnight snow on Wednesday the 7th but by the morning it was over, my drive south for lunch with Jenny was of no issue. There was another dusting during the overnight hours on the 13th but it made little impact as well except for a scheduled baseball scrimmage at McCaskey that was postponed due to wet grounds. 2018 is my third season doing the PA for the games at JPM and I have a great time working baseball in an environment where The Game is what matters and the extraneous garbage is nonexistent, the first home game is on Thursday the 29th. The Royals wrapped up their eight-game road trip on the 10th with a victory in Wheeling, they finished the swing with a 3-1-4 mark. The pessimist would say they lost five of the eight but what matters is they gained standings points in every game except one, earning ten of a possible sixteen points on a difficult trip is more than acceptable. Since January 24 the club has played fourteen of eighteen games on the road, they went 10-3-5 during that stretch recording nineteen of an available twenty-eight points away from home. The overall record stands at 33-21-7, the boys play at home on the 14th with eight of the remaining eleven regular-season games at the Arena. Take care, thanks for reading.
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