January 31

Friday afternoon at McCaskey for the start of a two-day endurance test, on this night we made the unpleasant trip north into Lebanon County for a big game at Cedar Crest. On a personal level I really wasn't looking forward to this because the trip itself is miserable and I was fully expecting the varsity game to be a bona fide 100% Class A screwjob because (sorry to say) history has shown that to usually be the case whenever we are involved in an important game and especially when we're on the road. The JV game was a victory for JPM, in the varsity game Cedar Crest prevailed by one point 53-52. The officiating was a factor but it wasn't the reason we lost, both teams had calls go for and against. We simply played uphill from behind all night against a good opponent in their gym in front of their crowd and the final break went their way. The result clinches the division title for Cedar Crest and locks us into second place, we meet the champion of Section IV (either Lancaster Catholic or Elco) in the league playoff quarterfinals on Monday the 10th. We were back in town a little after 10:30 which afforded me time to call Jenny, grab a bite to eat and write this blog post before calling it a night. The boys are back at it early on Saturday, we head into Berks County for an early afternoon date in suburban Reading. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 27-30

Monday morning at the mall started the week in the usual manner, after supper I was at basketball practice at McCaskey. I had texted Freddy to bring the books so I could get them prepared for Tuesday but that request was in reality as much superstition-based as anything else. When I was absent on December 13 my next game was a home game, I got the books from Freddy that night and we won. When I was absent again on January 3 and 4 I returned at a home game and the same scenario occurred. I was absent on the 17th and returned for a road game, I got the books from Freddy when we got on the bus and on that night we LOST. Since I was just absent again on Friday and our next game is on the road I decided to break the pattern, maybe it's silly but it made me feel better. I was explaining all of this to assistant coach Jason Yurchak before practice started and he said he understood exactly where I was coming from. On Tuesday we boarded the bus for the first of a three-game week (all on the road), the destination was Ephrata for the last league crossover game of the season. This is the second (and by many reports the last) year for the current schedule format where we played the other four teams from Section II in December and had this matchup near the end. This was in many ways a trap game given what lies ahead, Ephrata entered winless at 0-18 with an average margin of defeat at twenty points. The JV squad improved to 15-3 with a thirty-two point win, the varsity took care of its business by an identical margin. We were up by ten after one and fourteen at the half, by the end of the third the lead was up to twenty-eight, the final was 65-33. Freddy got fourteen players into the game and ten of them scored, several of our higher scorers had lesser totals but on this night against this opponent it didn't hurt. Samir Gordon (11) and Makai Ortiz-Gray (10) hit double figures, Elijah Terry had nine, Sam Hershey scored eight, Kevin Polite and Irving Gonzalez had seven each. Isaiah Thomas added five points, Jonathan Byrd had four and Carter Gingerich and Hasan Williams rounded out the book with two points each. In all honesty there would have been no excuse to lose this game but anytime we play within our league you take nothing for granted (especially on the road), had Ephrata pulled an upset it would be talked about for years. The boys stand at 13-5 overall and 9-2 in the league, the club has clinched a top-two finish in our division and the league playoff berth that goes with it. It's the first time the program has had any postseason since 2016. Wednesday lunch with Jenny and a Thursday morning errand run was all that happened on either day as we gear up for a busy weekend. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 23-26

Stopped by basketball practice on Thursday to give Freddy the books since I would be absent from the team's next game, it was played at home on Friday evening. The boys defeated Penn Manor 72-52 to improve to 8-2 in league play and 12-5 overall, JPM plays next on the 28th in Ephrata. I was absent because the Royals were at home for the opener of a two-game set with the Newfoundland Growlers. The province of Newfoundland was recently hit with the worst blizzard in its history, Growlers radio broadcaster Chris Ballard (a St.John's native) said the weather in Reading was like summertime compared to back home. On Friday evening Garrett Mitchell's goal gave the Royals an early 1-0 lead but the Growlers replied in kind, in the second period Hayden Hodgson put the Good Guys back on top 2-1. The defensive battle continued deep into the final period, with the Growler net empty for the extra attacker Corey Mackin hit the bullseye, a second empty-netter from Frank DiChiara locked up the 4-1 victory for Kirill Ustemenko. In the Saturday rematch the Growlers turned the tables by scoring twice in the opening period, in the second frame Corey Mackin struck on a power play to get the Royals on the board. Much like Friday the score remained 2-1 until the closing minute when Newfoundland hit an empty-netter to clinch the victory 3-1. Felix Sandstrom (back from the AHL Phantoms) saw game action for the first time in two weeks and took the hard-luck loss. The Royals finish the home portion of the January home schedule at 23-14-5 overall and 17-5-2 at the Arena. In February the club plays twelve games (equally divided, six at home and six on the road), the next home date is Friday the 7th versus the Atlanta Gladiators. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 21-22

Jenny and her mother were in town on Tuesday morning for separate medical appointments, Jenny was at the plaza about two blocks from my place. Both appointments were set for 10:00, when Jenny was done we drove into the city to get Helen and had lunch on the way home to Quarryville. In the evening we were on the bus to Neffsville, the boys played at Manheim Township. JPM was 4-0 within the division during the first half of play, this night started the second round. The JV squad rebounded from a Friday loss to Hempfield with a five-point win, the varsity game required overtime before MT prevailed 85-74. Much like our win over Cedar Crest the final score is deceiving, down the stretch MT put it away at the line making fifteen-of-eighteen in the OT alone. This game was a typical LL League frustration where the same play is called differently at opposite ends of the floor depending upon who did it, on the night we were 20-27 at the line while MT was 34-42 with one player shooting twenty-four of them all by himself. We were up seven at halftime and eleven after three quarters, in the fourth MT suddenly caught fire and simply could not miss. You have to figure that every opponent we play wants to beat us to begin with, having lost to us the first time around merely adds fuel to the fire. We had four players in double figures (Isaiah Thomas 23, Elijah Terry 18, Carter Gingerich 13, Makai Ortiz-Gray 12) but it doesn't mean much without the W. The club drops to 7-2 in league play and 11-5 overall, the boys host Penn Manor (in my absence) on Friday the 24th. A morning errand run was the extent of Wednesday activities, with temperatures in the low 30s and a stiff breeze going it was better to be indoors. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 19-20

The storm system was long gone on Sunday morning, the first order of business was to clear the front sidewalk. There was a thin layer of ice in top of an even thinner layer of snow, once I broke a corner of it the job was done in about two minutes. I threw some salt down and the sun came out shortly thereafter, the residue melted down in good order. By the time I left for the Arena at 1:00 the sunshine was brilliant, the walk to the car and the drive itself were of no concern at all. On Penn Street at 4:00 the Royals hosted the Worcester Railers in the first of a two-game set. Although Worcester trails the Royals by fourteen points in the league standings the Railers have been a difficult opponent, they entered having won four of the clubs' five meetings thus far in '19-20. On this day the Royals took a 1-0 lead in the first on a score by Hayden Hodgson (three-year pro from Windsor, Ontario who recently returned from a lengthy injury absence), goals by Garrett Mitchell and Corey Mackin made it 3-0 after two periods. Worcester broke up Kirill Ustemenko's shutout bid early in the third but markers from Steven Swavely and Brayden Low (into the empty net) clinched a 5-1 Royals victory. On Monday afternoon the clubs met again at 1:00 as we hosted a Martin Luther King Day game for the first time since 2017. On this occasion the Railers scored first but in the second period the Royals forged ahead on goals by Mackin and Garret Cockerill to carry a 2-1 lead in to the final period. Midway through the period Worcester cashed in on a power play chance to tie the game setting the stage for sudden-death overtime. In the extra frame the Royals weathered a penalty kill successfully but moments later the Railers scored a disputed goal which was confirmed by replay for the game-winner, "Usti" took the tough 3-2 loss but deserved better. The Royals earned five of six points on the weekend and stand at 22-13-5 overall, 16-4-2 on home ice. The Newfoundland Growlers visit for a doubleheader starting on Friday the 24th. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 16-18

A quiet Thursday gave way to a busy Friday, in the afternoon we were on the road north to the Arena. The Royals hosted the Adirondack Thunder for the second of their three scheduled appearances in downtown Reading. The club's roster was fortified during the week with some new additions including "folk hero" Nick Niedert as emergency back-up goaltender (Felix Sandstrom is on recall to the AHL Phantoms). Trevor Gooch gave the Royals a 1-0 lead late in the first period, Corey Mackin extended the lead to two early in the second. The visitors from the North Country got one back later in the second, in the third Garrett Cockerill found the net to restore the Royals two-goal edge. The Thunder cashed in on a two-man advantage to make it 3-2 with fifteen minutes left, in the closing minutes with ADK skating with the extra attacker Mackin hit the empty net for the clincher as the Royals hung on for the 4-2 win. Kirill Ustemenko picked up the victory as the club improves to 15-4-1 at home and 21-13-4 overall, the boys host Worcester back-to-back on the 19th and 20th. Saw online where JPM won on Friday night, the boys beat Hempfield 72-55. Talked to Freddy via text message, he said it wasn't the prettiest win but he'll take it. The win is the club's eighth straight after a 3-4 start, the league mark is 7-1. JPM was scheduled to play in a showcase event at Reading HS on Saturday but Mother Nature changed the plans. There was a storm system in the forecast for Saturday, the game was actually postponed better than twenty-fours early on Friday afternoon. I was awake on Saturday morning before 7:00, at that point nothing had happened. By 9:30 there were flurries blowing around and the streets were wet, at 11:00 I went out for lunch and a few errands. I was back before 1:00, later in the day the precipitation turned into freezing rain. This is the second straight season (and the third in five years) the RHS showcase event was postponed, there was no immediate word on a possible makeup date. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 13-15

Monday afternoon at McCaskey for the start of a busy basketball week, this was the makeup game in Millersville versus Penn Manor. The trip is one of the shorter we have within our division, the schools are only about six miles apart and after that little jaunt we had on Saturday this was a piece of cake by comparison. The JV squad won their game by sixteen points, the varsity followed suit with a 66-44 win. We were up nine at the quarter and eight at halftime, in the second half the boys opened it up and brought it home somewhat easily. Isaiah Thomas was top man on this night with 14 points, Elijah Terry added 13 and Makai Ortiz-Gray had 12. It was quite frankly a game we should have won and under the circumstances it could have been a trap game but the guys took care of business as a true contender should. The club was right back at it on Tuesday night at home, Cedar Crest visited from Lebanon County for arguably the biggest game of the season (at least thus far). CC is considered by many as the prohibitive favorite to win the division, they entered the night unbeaten in league play at 7-0 and 14-1 overall. The JV squad won its game by thirteen, in the varsity game the Red Tornado struggled early on. At the quarter we trailed by one but by halftime the boys were up by six, the advantage was at eleven entering the final period. CC (being the good team they are) never folded, they fought back to within five in the final moments. The obvious tactic at that point was to foul us to regain possession but the strategy boomeranged, JPM went 15-17 at the line in the last quarter to ice a closer-than-it-looks 62-48 victory. Elijah was top scorer with 20, he was supported by ten points each from Isaiah, Makai and Carter Gingerich. Samir Gordon scored six points with Jonathan Byrd, Da-vion Scarborough ('18-19 JV player) and Irving Gonzalez netting two points each. The two-game sweep improves JPM to 10-4 overall and 6-1 within league play, the boys have another back-to-back set on Friday and Saturday. Jenny and I did our midweek lunch date on Wednesday, after supper I took the scorebooks over to practise since I'm absent on Friday (but back in on Saturday weather permitting). Take care, thanks for reading.

January 10-12

Friday lunch with Jenny and her mother, in the afternoon we made our way into downtown Reading, The Royals hosted the Wheeling Nailers for the third of their four regular-season visits. It was Country Music Night at the Arena, singer-songwriter Kendal Conrad (from neighboring Montgomery County) performed on the concourse during the pregame. On the ice the Royals took a 2-0 lead in the first on scores from Matthew Strome and Thomas Ebbing, Brayden Low lit the lame early in the second to extend the lead to three. The Nailers scored two of their own later in the second, the game remained 3-2 into the closing minutes. Wheeling pulled the goalie in favor of the extra attacker, empty-net scores by Steven Swavely and Ebbing (his second of the night) salted away the 5-2 victory for goaltender Karill Ustemenko. The Royals hit the overall midway point at 20-12-4, the record at home improves to 14-4-1. The club hosts Adirondack on Friday the 17th. On Saturday afternoon we convened early at McCaskey for the 130-mile bus trip north to Williamsport, we departed shortly after 1:00 and arrived around 3:40 or so. The JV game tipped at 4:30 and required two overtime periods for JPM to prevail 92-88, in the varsity game we were in control almost from the get-go but Williamsport hung tough and never really went away. We were up by four at the quarter and fourteen at the half, the second half was dead even as we won 81-67. Elijah Terry had the big night with 22, Makai Ortiz-Gray added 13, Samir Gordon 11 and Isaiah Thomas hit double figures with ten. The club has won five straight and stands at 8-4 overall with an NBA-style week looming, the boys play at Penn Manor on Monday (the makeup game from the 7th) and host Cedar Crest on Tuesday with another back-to-back on the docket for Friday and Saturday. Thanks to the earlier start we were back in Lancaster by 11:15, a rainy Sunday was spent in the comfort of home. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 8-9

Wednesday morning lunch with Jenny as usual, in the evening I was at McCaskey for my special-guest starring appearance on the PA. I rarely get to see the girls teams play and doing the PA happens even less frequently simply because the young lady who usually works their games is almost never absent. The JV squad won but the varsity took a loss as the program's rebuild continues. On Thursday night at JPM it was the boys' turn on the floor as Coatesville visited from Chester County for a non-league game. Coatesville is traditionally a very tough opponent, they entered the night as the #5 ranked team in the state with a roster featuring one player with over 1000 career points and another with over 2000. The JV game in itself was worth the price of admission, JPM's nine-game winning streak ended with a three point loss that had all the intensity of a varsity game. By the time it ended the building was virtually sold out and it was loud, the atmosphere definitely took me back to days of yore. The varsity game had a tough act to follow but it delivered in a big way as the Red Tornado battled to the end and prevailed 72-66. We were down by six at the quarter and three at the half, entering the final quarter we were up by one. Down the stretch the teams stood toe-to-toe and slugged it out to the finish, when the buzzer sounded several fans stormed the court to celebrate with the team. It is easily the biggest win thus far in Freddy's tenure as head coach and in my opinion it's the biggest since 2016 (the last time we qualified for any postseason play). Seven players appeared for JPM and six got into the scoring column, Elijah Terry had a huge night with 28 points with Makai Ortiz-Gray adding 15 and Isaiah Thomas posting 11. Samir Gordon scored nine points, Carter Gingerich had five including a key rebound/putback late in the game and Jonathan Byrd rounded out the book with four. The club reaches the midpoint of its overall schedule at 7-4. The varsity has not played on the road since December 18, the five-game homestand that followed became six when the game at Penn Manor was postponed. Over the last half of the season the team plays eight of eleven away from home, the first of those is on Saturday the 11th in Williamsport. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 6-7

Noticed that this blog reached 22,000 views recently, I don't know who reads the tripe I post here but I thank you for being my audience. The new week began in the usual manner with a Monday morning visit to the mall, the rest of the day was quiet including an earlier-than-usual bedtime. On Tuesday morning I was awake before 7:00, by 7:30 ("by the dawn's early light") I was northbound on 222. It was a strange feeling watching the sun rising in the east while I was making the trip, usually it's the other way around but this day was very different. At the Arena the Royals hosted its first-ever Education Day game, the puck dropped at 10:30. The Maine Mariners were the opponent for the fourth of their six regular-season visits. The early start time reminded me of similar games in days past when I was working elsewhere in Berks County (long ago and far away in a place where I spent thirty-five summers of my life and almost never talk about anymore). The attendance was close to 6000 and 5000 of them were school kids who kept the noise and energy going from start to finish, six minutes into the first period Matthew Gaudreau gave them a reason to scream when he gave the Royals a 1-0 lead. Midway through the second period Corey Mackin lit the lamp to make it 2-0, late in the third the Mariners broke up the shutout bid but Kirill Ustemenko and company closed the door from there for the tough 2-1 victory. The Royals reach the midpoint of the home schedule at 13-4-1, overall the club is 19-12-4. The game wound down at 12:45, I stopped on the way home for a quick lunch. There was talk of wintry weather in the forecast, flurries began to blow around on the drive south and by the time I was home it was coming straight down and steady. The basketball team was scheduled to play at Penn Manor, the game was called and reset for Monday the 13th. Later in the afternoon I got a phone call from the athletic office, the girls' home game with PM was being played on Wednesday and the young lady who usually does their PA was unavailable. I rarely get to see our girls play so I probably would have been there anyway so filling in on the mic is no problem at all. When I was absent from the boys games over the weekend she covered it for me so as they say "fair is fair". Take care, thanks for reading.

January 4-5

Saturday morning with Jenny for our weekend lunch date, in the afternoon we were back on the road north for game #2 with Worcester. This game was almost a carbon copy of Friday's game which for the Royals was unfortunate. The visitors scored twice in the first and added another early in the second for a 3-0 lead (sound familiar?). Goals late in the period by Matthew Strome and Steven Swavely got the Royals back in it but in the third Worcester scored twice (the last into an empty net) to win it 5-2. Kirill Ustemenko was the Royals' goalie of record as the club falls to 12-4-1 at home and 18-12-4 overall. This was the second consecutive year we played at home on January 4 and only the fourth time in the nineteen years the club has been in Reading, as they did in 2019 the organization Got Me. I was walking off the ice after the first period ended when Mike Keller (our excellent in-arena host) told the crowd it was my birthday, he then led the fans in singing that song you usually associate with such occasions. I knew something was going to happen but I didn't know how or when, it's nice that they acknowledged it but it was somewhat embarrassing. In 2021 it falls on a Monday which is a rare night for hockey so the streak of home games on that date should end (unless they schedule one just to Get Me again). JPM played at home on Saturday night in my absence and defeated Oxford in resounding fashion 69-26. I don't know if we're that good or if our opponent is that bad, maybe it's a little bit of both. The boys stand at 6-4 (as we were after ten games in 2019), they get back into league play on Tuesday the 7th which figures to be a busy day all the way around. The Royals are hosting a first-ever Education Day game starting at 10:30am (that's in the morning), by the time it's over and I'm back in town it will time to get on the bus at JPM for the ride to Millersville for the basketball game. I did junkets like that quite often in my younger years but these days they are less frequent, all I know is I'll be to bed a little earlier than usual on Monday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 1-3

According to the Chinese Zodiac the new calendar year is the Year Of The Rat, I prefer to make a bad pun and call it the Year Of Perfect Vision (20-20). January started quietly on Wednesday with the traditional college football games on TV, on Thursday Jenny and I had our midweek lunch a day later than usual. After supper I went over to McCaskey, the boys had the late practice time starting at 5:30. I gave the scorebooks to Freddy since I was going to be away for the weekend, the club had back-to-back home dates coinciding with Royals games at the Arena. On Friday the Worcester Railers came to town for their first appearance of the season and the opener of a two-game set. The Royals began the night eighteen points ahead of Worcester in the standings but you would have never known it, on this night the visitors from central Massachusetts scored twice in the first four minutes and held that lead through two periods. Another marker in the third put the Royals back by three and effectively ended the game, midway through the period Trevor Gooch got the Royals on the board but a Worcester empty-netter in the final seconds put the cap on a 4-1 decision. Felix Sandstrom started in goal and suffered the loss, the Royals drop to 18-11-4 and 12-3-1 at the Arena. There was one bit of good news for the evening, when I got home I saw on the 'net that JPM had won over Manheim Township 79-60, along the way Elijah Terry scored his 1000th career point. Elijah played his first three years at Lancaster Mennonite and scored 804 points before coming to JPM, there are those who might want to put an asterisk next to his name because of that but 1000 is 1000 no matter where it happened. He becomes the twelfth player in school history to reach the magic mark and the fourth to achieve this between another school and JPM: Dustin Salisbury (2003) started at Lampeter-Strasburg, Devonne Pinkard (2013) and Randolph Speller (2016) both began at Lancaster Catholic. The boys host Oxford (from Chester County) in a non-league game on Saturday while I'm back with the Royals for game #2 with Worcester. Take care, thanks for reading.