March 27-31

Left the house shortly after 9:00 on Sunday morning for the final day of this endurance test we've all been on recently, the day's activities at the Arena began at 11:30 with the 16th annual Battle Of The Badges. This game began in 2006 as a Reading Police vs Fire matchup, the current format was adopted in 2017 with first-responders from Reading/Berks County meeting their brethren from Allentown/Lehigh Valley. The game last occurred two years previously on March 8, little did we know on that day it would be the last time ANYTHING would happen at the Arena for eighty-four weeks. This game is almost always a spirited affair and this day was no exception, in the closing seconds tempers flared and the game was called at that point. After an opening win in 2017 followed by three straight losses the Reading/Berks squad climbed to within 3-2 all-time in the series with a 10-3 win. At 3:00 the main event faced-off as the Worcester Railers returned for the last of their eight visits. Thomas Ebbing gave the Royals a 1-0 lead just over one minute after the game started, midway through the period the Railers scored their lone goal of the day to tie it 1-1. In the second period Brayden Low and Frank DiChiara upped the lead to 3-1, Ebbing's second score late in the third wrapped up the 4-1 win for goaltender Logan Flodell. The club improves to 37-16-8 overall and 19-8-4 at home, they have a whole FOUR DAYS (!!!!) before they start a three-game road trip on April 1 (and I severely doubt anybody is going to complain). The first four days of the new week (and the last four of the month) were largely uneventful but there was one bit of good news. Results of other games through the week allowed the Royals to officially clinch a playoff berth for the fifteenth time in the club's twenty-year history. The last time we actually played in the postseason was 2018, the club didn't qualify in 2019 and we all know about what happened over the next two years. It was announced that the first two home games would be on April 20 and 22 (the regular season ends on the 16th) regardless of opponent and right now the entire division is still alive. The stretch drive should be very interesting. Take care, thanks for reading.. 

March 25-26

Back on the road on Friday for the start of another three-in-three at the Arena as we head down the home stretch of this incredible homestand. It's that time of year, youngsters from recently-completed college programs and Junior teams are coming in on look-sees for an opportunity to win a contract. In recent days the Royals have added collegiate forwards Tyler Kirkup (Bemidji State) and Shane Sellar (RPI) plus goalie Mike Robinson (New Hampshire) to the active roster. Early in the season we saw the Norfolk Admirals five times in our first seven home dates, on this night they returned for the first time since November 21 for the start of a two-game series. Norfolk does not have one of the league's better records but as this weekend played out you would have never known it. In the Friday opener the Royals fell behind early, Mason Millman's tally midway through the first period knotted the score 1-1. In the second period the Ads went back up 2-1, it stayed that until midway through the third when Trevor Gooch found the net to draw the Royals even. Just sixteens seconds later the unphased Admirals struck right back for a 3-2 lead they would hold all the way to the final horn. Mike Robinson made his pro debut and took the loss becoming the seventh goaltender to appear for the Royals in '21-22. Saturday's game began at 4:00, one of three such early starts the club had scheduled at home on Saturdays. Thomas Ebbing gave the Royals a 1-0 lead in the first but Norfolk ripped off three in a row before Ebbing struck again, entering the third period the Royals trailed 3-2. With four minutes left in regulation Patrick Bajkov lit the lamp to tie it 3-3 but there was still one round left in the chamber. In the closing seconds Norfolk scored on a play the Royals argued was offside but to no avail, an empty-net goal on the ensuing faceoff ended what can only be called a stunning 5-3 loss. Logan Flodell (back from a stint in the AHL) started in goal and deserved a better fate. Jenny and her mother were along for both games since Friday was Mental Health Recovery Night and Saturday was Autism Awareness Night, both are causes very close to their hearts. I was home by 8:30 and very glad for the fact that the game had that late afternoon start time, Sunday will be busy and it starts early. Take care, thanks for reading. 

March 21-24

Sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s ushered in the new week, on Monday afternoon the baseball club at McCaskey had a scrimmage at home. The program's new head coach is a gentleman named Gilbert Vega, he's a 2009 JPM grad who played collegiately at Kutztown University and was most recently an assistant at Penn State-Harrisburg. I hadn't met him previously, before the game I went into the dugout to introduce myself. One of the assistant coaches did the honors for me, Coach Vega's reply was "Oh, Frenchy? The legendary Frenchy!!!" (HIS words, not mine). Right now it looks like there will be at least two games I won't be able to work because of ice hockey but hopefully that will be the extent of it. On Tuesday I was back on 222 for the first of a back-to-back at the Arena, the Worcester Railers were in for a pair of rescheduled games from December 18 and 19. These were the last of the outstanding home makeup games, the club still has two on the road and there's a chance one of them may not be happening. After a tough weekend with Adirondack the Royals got back into the win column with a Tuesday night 6-3 win. Trevor Gooch led the way scoring a hattrick with Patrick Bajkov, Garrett Cockerill and Thomas Ebbing also lighting the lamp. In the Wednesday rematch there were four goals scored in the first five minutes of play and nothing more until the final seconds. Worcester took the early lead just over a minute in, thirty-seven seconds later Frank DiChiara scored from a faceoff to tie it 1-1. Just over a minute later the red-hot Trevor Gooch gave the Royals the lead, one minute and five seconds after that Thomas Ebbing followed up making it 3-1. It stayed that way until the final thirty-five seconds, the Railers scored with the extra attacker but could come no closer as the Royals completed the two-game sweep with a 3-2 win. With Pat Nagle on recall to the Phantoms Hayden Hawkey played both nights in goal and picked up both Ws. The club improves to 36-14-8 overall and 18-6-4 at the Arena, the grind continues with the Norfolk Admirals visiting on Friday and Saturday. Take care, thanks for reading. 

March 14-20

I recently noticed that this blog has had over 30,000 views since its inception here in November of 2010. I have always appreciated what following I have, I don't know who would care about the drivel I talk about but whoever you are I thank you for your interest. Friday night at the Arena for the start of a three-game weekend and an unprecedented stretch of home games. From the 18th to the 27th the Royals play eight games in ten days (all at home), two three-game weekends plus a two-game midweek set of makeups from December. The club went 3-0-0 on the most recent road trip, on Friday the Adirondack Thunder visited as the weekend's lone opponent. It was Affiliation Night, the Royals wore Flyers-themed sweaters plus mascots Gritty (from the Flyers) and meLVin (from the Phantoms and the spelling IS correct) were in the house. The club's road success did not carry over on this night as the Thunder drew first blood on the weekend with a 3-2 decision. Grant Cooper and Patrick Bajkov scored for the Royals, goaltender Pat Nagle (back from a stint with the Phantoms and with Team USA at the Olympics in China) played his first game at the Arena since November and took the loss. Saturday was St. "Hattricks" Night, the Royals wore green-and-black Irish-themed sweaters and the ice was tinted green. A fan had a chance to win $10,000 if a Royal scored a hattrick, nobody came close as five players scored once each but it was good enough for a 5-2 victory. Frank Dichiara, Trevor Gooch, Mason Millman, Brad Morrison and Jacob Pritchard lit the lamp, Pat Nagle was in net for the second straight night and picked up the win. After a pair of 7:00 faceoffs we were back at it on Sunday afternoon at 3:00, the visitors from the North Country turned the tables and took the rubber match by an identical 5-2 score. The game was 2-2 entering the third period, ADK took the lead early on and clinched it with two late scores including an empty-netter. Thomas Ebbing and Jacob Pritchard accounted for the Royals' scoring, Hayden Hawkey made his first appearance in net at home since February and suffered the loss. The weekend results bring the club's mark to 34-14-8 overall and 16-6-4 at home, the Worcester Railers hit town for that two-game makeup set on Tuesday the 22nd. Take care, thanks for reading. 

March 9-13

Earlier in the week we had temperatures in the 60s, on Wednesday morning it was raw and rainy. In the evening it was a hockey night at the Arena, the Adirondack Thunder visited for a game rescheduled from December 11. This was the first of four straight games at home for the Royals against ADK, the other three are on consecutive dates later in the month. The game was scoreless until the latter part of the second period, the Thunder struck first before Acadia University product Garrett McFadden (on loan from the Phantoms) knotted it 1-1 at the second intermission. ADK went ahead early in the third, Thomas Ebbing scored the tying goal and just over two minutes later Mike Chen lit the lamp to put the Royals up 3-2. Chen is a great story: he's been with the club all season and more often than not has been the odd-man out. He is a defenseman by trade but on this night he was in the lineup as the tenth forward and his hard work was finally rewarded, he got the hero's welcome at the bench after his go-ahead score (to use a high-school analogy, he's like the guy at the end of the bench who rarely plays but he's the hardest worker in practice and the most popular guy on the team). Unfortunately the good times did not last, the Thunder tied the game later in the period and ultimately prevailed in the OT shootout 4-3. Logan Flodell was goalie of record as the club drops to 15-4-4 at home and 30-12-8 overall. The Royals have a three-game road trip upcoming, the next home date is the first of that aforementioned three-in-three with ADK on March 18. There was talk of a storm system passing through the area on Saturday, it arrived in the early morning hours. When I arose for the day it was WHITE outside, I called Jenny and told her we'd do lunch on Sunday instead. The system was gone by early afternoon, I cleaned the car and drove it out on the highway to warm it up. In the evening hours it was frigid and windy, I was just as glad to be in the house. The semi-annual clock change took effect on this night, on Sunday it was clear and sunny as Jenny and I had our makeup lunch date. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 7-8

A quiet start to the new week gives me the perfect opportunity to talk more in depth about what was a very busy Sunday. In recent years more and more female students have shown an interest in wrestling at the high school level, McCaskey is one of several schools in our area that has instituted a program exclusively for them. For athletic director Jon Mitchell it's a cause close to his heart, he was the boys wrestling coach at JPM before becoming AD in 2009. Back in February he had contacted me about my availability for March 6, on this day McCaskey was hosting the Pennsylvania Central Regional Tournament. PIAA Districts 3, 4 and 5 comprised the region, forty-five different schools were represented. Weigh-ins were at 9:30, the bouts started at 10:30 and for the next several hours over one hundred girls competed in close to two hundred matches in thirteen weight classes on three mats spread out across the gym floor. Once each bracket was down to its semifinals the third mat was removed and the stands on that side of the gym were opened up for added seating. For the championship matches the second mat was removed, the main mat was moved to the middle of the floor and my workday officially started. Jon had said he wouldn't need me until the championship round which he estimated might start around 2:00 or so, I arrived around noon to be on the safe side. As it turned out I was way early, the thirteen-bout championship round didn't start until 4:30 (but no complaints from me because it got me out of the house on what would have been a boring day otherwise). After the second match we presented medals to the top four finishers in the first weight class and continued that pattern until the last match ended, at that point awards were given to the last two classes at the same time. I have a very minimal (as in close to zero) knowledge of scholastic wrestling but I managed to bluff my way through it on the mic and make it sound like I knew what I was doing. The whole thing was done by 6:30 and it had to be considered a huge success. Girls Wrestling is not yet officially sanctioned by the PIAA but this was a good start towards realizing that goal. Take care, thanks for reading. 

March 4-6

Saturday night at the Arena, the Wheeling Nailers visited for the last of their two appearances. This was (for lack of a better term) Beer Night, there were specials available at the concession stands and the Royals wore sweaters featuring the logo of a very popular local brew that has been in business since 1886. On this night Jackson Cressey gave the Home Boys a 1-0 lead twenty-one seconds after game started, that held until the second period when the Nailers scored twice on the power play to go up 2-1. The third period was all Royals, six minutes in Brayden Low lit the lamp to even matters at 2-2. Three minutes later Kenny Hausinger (whose younger brother Cam plays for Wheeling) gave the Royals a 3-2 advantage. In the closing moments Ryan MacKinnon (Prince Edward Island native on assignment from the Phantoms) scored an insurance goal bringing the final to 4-2, Kiill Ustimenko (also back from a stint with the Phantoms) got the start in net and picked up the W. The victory is the club's seventh straight (including a Friday road win in Worcester), that follows a 0-3-1 stretch which was in turn preceded by a five-game win streak in early February. The club's mark stands at 30-12-7 overall and 15-4-3 at home, we're back for a March 9 makeup with Adirondack. On Sunday I spent six interesting hours at McCaskey at the request of athletic director Jon Mitchell, it was a groundbreaking event that we'll talk more about in our next entry here. As they used to say on TV: Stay Tuned. Thanks for reading. 

February 21-March 3

The last week of February had little to recommend it, we're in that time of year where high school basketball is in the rear-view mirror and spring activities are not yet even visible on the horizon. The Royals went 4-0-1 on a very challenging road trip, on Wednesday the 2nd the boys returned home for a makeup date with the Worcester Railers. In December we had four home dates postponed thanks to The Circumstances, three of them were on one three-in-three weekend with Worcester. This was the first of what will be eleven home games in March, four each against Worcester and Adirondack with Norfolk visiting twice and Wheeling once. On this night at the Arena the Royals took two leads and were caught both times. The first period was scoreless, early in the second Patrick Bajkov found the net to put the Royals ahead. After the Railers evened things up Garret Cockerill (a former Royal who returned to the club in late December) gave the Good Guys a 2-1 lead at the intermission. Early in the third Worcester tied the score, at the period's midpoint the Royals scored what would have been the lead goal but it was disallowed due to interference with the goaltender. The issue went unresolved through the seven-minute overtime period and the teams went to the dreaded overtime shootout. The last time a game at the Arena required the "skills competition" to determine a winner was in March of 2019 (a win over Wheeling), on this occasion the Royals outscored Worcester one goal to none and claimed the victory 3-2. Anthony Gagnon scored the lone goal in the SO, newly-added goaltender Logan Flodell (first-year pro from Acadia University) picked up the win in his home-ice debut. The Royals stand at 28-12-7 overall (14-4-3 at the Arena), our old friends from West Virginia visit for an originally-scheduled game on Saturday the 5th, Take care, thanks for reading.