Friday began a busy weekend of hockey in downtown Reading and the Royals' annual Pink In The Rink activities for breast cancer awareness. The ice surface was tinted pink and the Royals wore special sweaters for the weekend, on Friday the Atlanta Gladiators made their lone scheduled appearance on Penn Street. As a non-divisional opponent the Glads are an infrequent visitor, this was their first time in Reading since November 2016. On this night the Royals scored early and often, markers by Corey Mackin and Eric Knodel gave the Home Team a 2-0 lead after one period. In the second frame defenseman Garrett Cecere (two-year pro from Northeastern University recently returned from the injured list) found the net to make it 3-0. The game was broken open in the third, goals by Brayden Low, Frank Dichiara, Eric Knodel and ex-Gladiator Luke Stork (all within the first eight minutes) put the Royals up by a converted touchdown. The visitors from Georgia averted the shutout by putting two on the board in the late going, the final score was 7-2 Royals. On Saturday we were back at it early, as part of the PITR activities there was a 2:00 college game at the Arena. Local institution Alvernia University is hosting its inaugural season of womens' hockey, they play their home games at an area rec facility. On this day they played in The Big Arena but struggled in a 5-0 loss to Manhattenville College (from Purchase, New York). In the evening the Wheeling Nailers visited for the fourth and final time in 2019-20 and took a quick 2-0 lead. Late in the first period rookie defenseman Rob Michel (University Of Maine) lit the lamp, in the second period goals by Hayden Hodgson and Frank DiChiara just over a minute apart put the Royals up 3-2. Midway through the period Brayden Low hustled home a shorthanded goal to make it 4-2, that lead held until the final minutes when Wheeling struck back to within one. Frank Dichiara's empty-netter in the final seconds clinched a 5-3 win, Felix Sandstrom started in goal both on Friday and Saturday and won both outings. The two-game sweep improves the club's mark to 19-5-2 at home and 27-14-5 overall, the next home date is on Sunday the 16th against Worcester. Take care, thanks for reading.
