October 29-31

Saturday night on Penn Street in downtown Reading for the 21st home opener of Royals ECHL hockey (yeah, it should be the 22nd but we all know the story), the Indy Fuel (from the capital of the Hoosier State) were the opponent for a two-game set. As a non-divisional opponent the Fuel are an infrequent visitor, this was their first appearance at the Arena since March of 2019. All of the usual bells and whistles were out in force for the opener but the guys from Indiana ruined the party with a 3-1 decision. First-year pro Yvan Mongo (University Of Ottawa) scored his first pro goal for the Royals, fellow rookie Nolan Maier took the loss in net. Sunday was a busy day that started early with two games of morning hockey in Rothsville, on this day Township won via shootout over Warwick and Hillside beat Ephrata in regulation. We started right on time at 10:30 and were done by 12:20 or so, I immediately hopped into the car and highballed it north on 222. I was out of the parking garage and in the Arena shortly after 1:00, plenty of time to get set up for the 3:00 faceoff. This was the Royals' Halloween game with the club wearing orange/black holiday-themed sweaters. The visiting Fuel took an early 1-0 lead, late in the period RPI product Shane Sellar (who got into three games the Royals in '21-22) scored his first as a pro to tie it 1-1. In the second Indy went back up 2-1 but in the third the Royals rallied back. Early in the period Notre Dame product Adam Karashik (on assignment from the AHL Phantoms) scored his first pro goal to tie the game 2-2. moments later fellow Phantoms assignee Charlie Gerard (a short-term Royal at the beginning of '21-22) lit the lamp to give the Good Guys the lead. Down the stretch Indy pressed for the tying goal but Pat Nagle and the defense corps held the fort for the 3-2 win and a split of the weekend series. The Royals stay home for a back-to-back with our old friends from Wheeling on November 4 and 5. With it all I arrived home at 6:30, nine hours after I had left and I was more than glad to be there. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 24-28

Another typical slow start to the new week, these days the morning errand run is about all that goes on. The boys basketball schedule at McCaskey is coming together, once that begins the weeknights will be somewhat more active. On Friday night we were at JPM as Penn Manor visited for the final game of football season, before the game we had the usual Senior Night recognitions for fifteen players and fifteen cheerleaders. It is always suggested to keep the bios short and sweet but some of the kids simply cannot resist the urge to tell us The Story Of Their Entire Existence, we started it at 6:30 and I somehow managed to have it all finished in about fifteen minutes or so (it makes you wonder what some of them will talk about once they've actually Lived a Life). The game itself was a virtually copy of just about any other game we've seen in recent years: the opponent runs out to a huge early lead and most of not all of the second half is played in the mercy rule. On this night it was 42-0 Penn Manor at halftime, the only score in the second half belonged to JPM when Jose Garcia rushed ten yards for a touchdown, the two-point conversion attempt failed. After winning their opener 30-24 the club lost its last nine games by a combined 422-66, that's an average of roughly 47-7. The program's last winning season was 2010, in twelve years since the overall record is just 25-94 (a .210 winning percentage). I don't know where blame could be assigned (if there is any to assign), the players are giving their all and the coaches are doing their jobs. It's just a frustrating situation all around. District Playoffs are on the horizon for those who qualified but at McCaskey the Season Is Over. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 22-23

Saturday afternoon in Kutztown for the Golden Bears Homecoming and one last turn on the mic for me. The Bears hosted division rival Lock Haven (from the city of the same name, about 140 miles northwest of Lancaster), game time was in mid-afternoon at 3:00. Before kickoff there was a ceremony honoring relatives of football players who were cancer survivors, halftime was unsurprisingly busy as well. There were two dance team exhibitions, the naming of the Homecoming Spirit Court Champion (the equivalent of Homecoming Queen), a brief performance by the KU Band and recognitions of the winners of a campus poster-making contest all within the space of twenty minutes and we had it done with four minutes to spare. In the game itself the Bears were in control from the start, at halftime it was 28-0 with the final score at 35-7. KU has one last home game on November 5 (I'm out for hockey at the Arena), if they have any playoffs at home I should be good IF I'm needed. On Sunday we were in Rothsville for week #4 of hockey at Lions Park, it should have been week #7 but we all know that story. One new man debuted bringing the enrollment up to forty-seven altogether, on this day both games were decided via overtime shootout. Hillside won over Warwick and Township outlasted Ephrata, we're back on the 30th weather permitting. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 17-21

In a perfect world we'd be playing weeknight dek hockey at this time of year but regrettably we live in an imperfect world, as a result there is little happening right now from Mondays to Thursdays. On Tuesday the ECHL announced the member clubs' season-opening rosters. The Royals' 23-man roster is unusual for this day in age in that it is exclusively North American, there are twelve players from Canada and eleven from the United States. The club has one player on assignment from the NHL Flyers and seven from the AHL Phantoms, twelve of the twenty-three are entering their first full season of professional hockey. It is a very young squad and there will undoubtedly be growing pains but in time it will come together. On Friday afternoon I was at the ballpark on North Prince Street for a special fundraiser event billed as the "Battle Of The Unions". This was originally scheduled for a Sunday in September but was rained out, the Barnstormers management offered this date as a makeup opportunity. The event was to raise funds for autism awareness, it was built around a round-robin softball tournament featuring teams comprised of city police, firefighters and municipal workers. Each team played two five-inning games with the top two seeds meeting for the championship. There were a number of extra attractions originally booked that did not happen thanks to the rainout/reschedule but the event was still successful, over four-thousand dollars were donated for the cause (one can only wonder how much better the original Sunday might have been). We started around 4:15 and were done shortly after 9:00, for the record the firefighters won the tournament over the police. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 15-16

Saturday night at the Arena for live on-ice action, the Royals hosted the Adirondack Thunder in the back end of a home-road exhibition series. The Royals lost 4-1 on Friday night in Glens Falls, on this evening ADK made it two straight with a 3-1 verdict. Kamerin Nault (five-year pro from Winnipeg, Manitoba) scored the lone goal for the Home Team, rookie goaltender Nolan Maier (from the WHL Saskatoon Blades) took the loss. The Royals are essentially a brand-new club with a lot of fresh faces on the roster, it's a work in progress but in many ways that's what the ECHL is all about. The regular season starts with three on the road before the home opener on the 29th. The Royals host their six divisional opponents (old friends Adirondack, Maine, Newfoundland, Trois-Rivieres and Worcester plus new division-mate Norfolk) for a total of twenty-five home dates, outside the division we'll see the Allen Americans, Atlanta Gladiators and Wheeling Nailers three times each with the Indy Fuel visiting twice. Sunday was a pleasant day for outdoor hockey at Lions Park in Rothsville, the league got to play games for a second straight week with no weather issues. On this day Hillside won over Township and Ephrata beat Warwick. Five new players joined up bringing the total participation to forty-six, we're back again on the 23rd. Take care, thanks for reading. 

October 13-14

Thursday afternoon on the road north and my first time at the Arena since mid-May when the season ended with a handshake line. This was an orientation/run-through night for the newer members of the game staff, several of the intermission on-ice contests were rehearsed. My part of it consisted largely of running the clock to simulate the end of a period, making a mock shots-on-goal announcement and then running intermission time starting from eighteen minutes. The object is to complete the on-ice activity by the thirteen-minute mark because that is when the Zambonis must enter. On the whole everything went well and it was good to be back in The House. On Friday night it was football gameday at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Cedar Crest on Homecoming. Since an opening-week 30-24 win on the road JPM had lost six straight by an average score of 46-6, three of the losses were by shutout. On this night the downbeat reached seven with a not-as-close-as-it-looks 42-19 loss. Cedar Crest ran out a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, three more touchdowns in the second made it 35-0 at halftime and insured running time in the second half. CC added one more TD in the third while JPM found the end zone three times. Matthew Remash threw scoring passes to Quimeak Talton (51 yards) and Liam Cox (11 yards), the club also scored defensively when Jose Garcia picked up a fumble and took it thirty-five yards to paydirt. Cox converted on his lone PAT attempt, the other two were failed two-point tries. Two games remain on the schedule, the last one at home is on the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading. 

October 10-12

Monday evening was Senior Night for the girls soccer team at McCaskey but the game was not on home grounds. Franklin And Marshall College was established in Lancaster in 1853, the school is named for Benjamin Franklin and Chief Justice John Marshall. I've had dealings with F&M in the past, from 2001 to 2007 I did the PA for their football games but that's another story for another time. The college opened an artificial-turf stadium for soccer in 2007, in recent seasons McCaskey has played there occasionally. I've driven by the place any number of times but this was the first time I was actually in the facility. Although there was a press box and seating areas on one side of the field the clock operator and I worked from a portable booth on the opposite side where the player benches were located. The senior recognitions started around 5:45, the game kicked off shortly after 6:00 and was eerily similar to the boys' game at the stadium the week before. JPM trailed 2-0 in the second half before rallying to force overtime, in the OT visiting Donegal was awarded a penalty kick and converted it for the 3-2 win. Definitely a movie we've seen before. On Tuesday Jenny and her mother came into town after lunch, in late afternoon we made our way to Berks County and an outdoor restaurant just south of Reading. After a three-year absence the annual Royals Meet-And-Greet for season-ticket holders was back with the players actually present, there had been a similar event in 2021 at the same venue but league protocols required the players to be absent. Former assistant coach James Henry is the Royals' new head coach, he succeeds Kirk MacDonald who has taken a coaching position in the USHL. Former ECHL veteran Jason Binkley is the new assistant coach, he was most recently an assistant coach in the SPHL. Most of the '21-22 team has moved on either to other teams or retirement, right now there are five returnees on the roster: defensemen Will MacKinnon, Garrett McFadden. Dominic Cormier and Mike Chen plus forward Tyler Kirkup. The club plays an exhibition game in Glens Falls with the Adirondack Thunder on Friday the 14th with the rematch at the Arena on Saturday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 8-9

At it early on Saturday morning with the 48-mile drive into northeastern Berks County and another football gameday at Kutztown University, the Golden Bears hosted division-rival Bloomsburg (from the town of the same name located about a hundred miles due north of Lancaster along the banks of the Susquehanna River). When I arrived they were having issues with the scoreboard clock, at 12-noon game time it still wasn't working at all. The game proceeded with the official time kept on the field and the referee giving updates at regular intervals. None of this seemed to faze the Bears at all, they had the game under control virtually from the start and won easily 24-0. There were relatively few penalties and both teams ran from scrimmage more than they passed, it made for a rapidly-played game that was over by 2:30. As it stands I'll have one more game in Kutztown, that is their Homecoming game on October 22. It was a very pleasant day weather-wise and those conditions carried over into Sunday where we finally got some hockey played at Lions Park in Rothsville. After two consecutive weeks rained out (and three of the first four) the teams actually got to play, these were the same matchups as September 18 (the only other day we've been there). On this day the tables were turned as both teams defeated on the 18th responded with wins of their own, Hillside over Ephrata and Township over Warwick. Six new players made their season debut raising the total thus far to forty-one, after two games against the same opponent the teams get a fresh matchup on the 16th. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 3-7

The miserable weather continued well into the new week, on Wednesday the boys soccer club at McCaskey was scheduled for its Senior Night games at the stadium. When I received notification that it had been postponed I wasn't entirely surprised, in the e-mail Jon mentioned that parts of the field were literally underwater. The games were rescheduled for Thursday when the rain was long gone, the sun was out for the first time in almost a week and it was virtually a perfect day and night for an outdoor event. The activities started with the JV game at 5:00, the Red Tornado and visiting Conestoga Valley played to a 1-1 tie. The Senior Recognitions followed around 6:30 or so, the varsity game kicked off shortly after 7:00. JPM trailed 3-1 with ten minutes left but rallied to tie it and force overtime, in the sudden-death period CV ruined the party with the game-winning goal. JPM head coach Adam Wood is an old dek-hockey friend, every year he and Jon try to get me there for their Senior Day if I'm available. Most of the time it's not an issue but in 2021 another commitment kept me away, I'm glad it worked out this time around because it's for the kids and my presence always seems to be appreciated. On Friday evening I was at home on a Friday for the first time in six weeks but it was all good because Saturday will start early. Take care, thanks for reading. 

September 30-October 2

We'll get the Big News out first: on Friday night at the ballpark the Barnstormers won the Atlantic League Championship defeating High Point 6-1 to finish a three-game-straight sweep. It's the third title in the club's eighteen-year history with all coming in eight-year intervals, the prior two were in 2006 and 2014. The Stormers scored three times in the first inning and were never headed, Trayvon Robinson led the way with a solo home run and an RBI double, Jacob Barfield and Trace Loehr contributed run-scoring singles, Melvin Mercedes picked up an RBI on a groundout and another run scored on an error. I had planned to go over to the ballpark after the football game but I never made it, the ballgame started just after 6:30 and ended shortly before 9:00. Series MVP Oscar De La Cruz started for the Stormers and was clearly in no mood to fool around, he went all the way for the club's only complete game in 2022. He allowed just four hits with eight strikeouts, no walks and at one point he retired nineteen consecutive batters. Needless to say I'm disappointed that I had to miss it but anybody who saw me at the ballpark during the season knows that I was there in spirit. The Physical Me was back at an old stomping ground on Friday night, I was at Crusader Stadium in the neighborhood of Rossmere for the first time since November of 2017. I had a long association with Lancaster Catholic football at one time, when it ended I left the door open for them to reach out if they ever needed me. This night was LCHS' Senior Night, we spotlighted the twelve players and their parents in the pregame. The game itself was a battle of unbeatens, Hamburg (from northern Berks County) entered at 5-0 as did the Crusaders and it was a classic. The score was tied 35-35 with just over a minute left, a Crusader field goal gave the home team a three-point lead. On the next possession a Hamburg pass reception carried deep into Crusader territory, on the tackle the defending player forced a fumble which he recovered to clinch the victory for LCHS 38-35. There were a few familiar faces around who recognized me, one said hearing my voice on the PA "brought back memories". I have to admit I enjoyed being back, it's a good place with good people which is about all you can ask for. The game started at 7:00 and ended about 9:45, just for the hell of it I drove over by the ballpark. The game had been over for close to an hour by this time, there were a few people milling around outside but the crowd was long gone. It's just as well the Stormers finished it on Friday because the remnants of that storm system finally arrived. Saturday was damp and misty, an all-day Sunday rain forced postponement of hockey in Rothsville for the second straight week and the third out of the last four. Take care, thanks for reading.