December 26-31

The last week of 2022 began in the typical Monday manner, on Wednesday night we were all together in downtown Reading for the final home game of the calendar year. The Royals hosted longtime rival Wheeling for the last of the Nailers' three regular-season visits to Berks County. Offensive highlights were in short supply for the Royals on this night, the club trailed 2-0 late into the third period. Jacob Gaucher broke the shutout bid in the final four minutes but the Royals could not find the equalizer, Kaden Fulcher was goalie of record in the tough 2-1 loss. The club finishes the '22 portion of its home schedule at 9-4 (thirteen down, twenty-three to go), the overmark stands at 16-8-1. The Royals play their next four on the road, the next home date is on January 7. On Thursday we were back at McCaskey after a two-game absence, this was night #2 of our annual holiday tournament. Perennial participant York was in along with Harrisburg, Lampeter-Strasburg (from LL League Section III) completed the field. L-S beat Harrisburg in the consolation game, the championship game between JPM and York required overtime. With one-tenth of a second (that's 0.1) left in regulation and McCaskey trailing by one Jonathan Byrd was fouled and awarded two free throws. He missed the first but converted the second to tie the score and force OT, in the extra period York outscored JPM 7-2 and took it 75-70. Jon was the Red Tornado's tournament all-star team selection but after the game he took personal responsibility for the loss (which was of course in no way his fault). The loss ends a five-game win streak after starting 0-3, the boys carry a 2-0 division record and an overall 5-4 mark into the New Year. The old year ended on a wet Saturday with temperatures in the 50s (this after the previous weekend when it felt like the start of a new Ice Age), we had our usual lunch visit in Quarryville. There was a New Years celebration scheduled in downtown Lancaster in the evening but I was home warm and dry, since my party days are long over and I don't own a scuba outfit I couldn't have cared less. Thanks as always for joining me, my friends. See you in 2023, take care. 

December 22-25

Earlier in the week I had a message from Jerry Johnson, McCaskey Class of 2001 and current athletic director/basketball coach at La Academia Charter School here in town. Their program is still relatively new, it started in 2019 and they play most of their games on the road since they have no home gym. Jerry worked out a deal to play some games at Stevens College (a small two-year technical school on King Street not far from where the late dek hockey rink was at Reservoir Park) and he asked if I'd be available. I was not for the game on the 21st because of the Royals (and had there been no hockey I would have been at JPM anyway) but the following night worked out. Thursday was a miserably rainy day, it was still coming when I arrived at Stevens an hour before the 6:00 start. I had never been in this gym before but it is an excellent facility for a school its size, I was told it has only been around about ten years or so. I noticed a plaque in the lobby honoring the memory of the late Steve Powell, longtime JPM coach who was an advocate for the college and a member of its board of trustees. This game was varsity-only (L.A. doesn't have a JV squad) and very competitive, visiting Columbia (from LL League Section Four) won 50-48. I did two games for Jerry in 2021 when they played "home games" in the state playoffs and I'm more than willing to help when I can because he's a good man and a class act. The all-day rain was gone by Friday morning, it ushered in a weekend of bitterly cold temperatures. We had our usual Saturday lunch in Quarryville, daytime highs were in the teens with wind chills below zero. On Sunday (which to some people was a holiday of some kind although it's been nothing to me for decades) Helen invited me in for her traditional dinner of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, lima beans, carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie for dessert. I was there around 3:00 or so, the meal was ready a short time later and it couldn't have been better. Of course the most important thing was being with Jenny for a few hours, it sure as hell beat sitting around my place doing absolutely nothing. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 19-21

Monday night at McCaskey for one last girls basketball game, this was their fourth home date and the fourth I was able to make. In most years they may have one or two at the most, having four (consecutive or otherwise) is very unusual. Unfortunately the run is probably over, from here on out the girls have seven home dates remaining and they are all on days I'm elsewhere (either with the boys or at the Arena). On this night Conestoga Valley visited from the eastern suburbs and it was a good one for JPM, both JV and varsity earned victories. On Wednesday evening it was a hockey night on Penn Street in downtown Reading. The Maine Mariners were in town for the first of two regular-season visits, the first time they were at the Arena since the playoffs in May. The Royals played twice on the road over the past weekend and went 2-0, on this night they kept that ball rolling but it was a battle. If you enjoy high-scoring hockey this game was right up your alley. The visitors drew first blood in the game's eighth minute, fifty-one seconds later Shane Sellar tied it at 1-1. Twenty-eight seconds after Sellar's score Charlie Gerard put the Royals ahead, Jacob Gaucher's goal late in the period made it 3-1 at the intermission. In the second Gerard struck again to put the Royals up by three but the Mariners roared back with three of their own to square it at 4-4. Eleven seconds after Maine tied it Gaucher untied it with his second of the night, entering the third period the Royals led 5-4. The Mariners scored the equalizer early in the final frame but the issue was finally decided late in the period on Alec Butcher's game-winning strike. Alec's GWG was the Alaska native's first goal scored at home and it made a winner of new goaltender Kaden Fulcher, a former Detroit Red Wing property recently added as a free agent. The 6-5 victory is the Royals' fourth in a row and the club's fifteenth in the last seventeen games. since that 1-4-1 start the record is up to 16-6-1 overall and 9-3 at home. The next home date is on Wednesday the 28th when the Wheeling Nailers visit. Saw online where the JPM boys beat Lebanon at home in my absence, that improves their mark to 4-3 overall and 2-0 within the division. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 16-18

Friday night at McCaskey for the first of a back-to-back at home. Penn Manor visited for the opener of the league's regular season and the first of the ten games counting towards the division standings. On this night the issue was resolved early on and emphatically, the Red Tornado ran out to an 18-0 lead midway through the first quarter. By halftime the lead was up to thirty-two, the thirty-point mercy rule kicked in at the start of the second half. The final was 72-50, three players hit double figures for JPM: De'Shaun McFadden led with eighteen, Eric Centeno had sixteen and Elias Garcia scored fifteen. Jonathan Byrd netted eight points, Wednesday hero Markelle Caine had five, Nemias Tirado and Aiden Burgess contributed four each and Stanley Moise scored his first two varsity points. Saturday was a quick turnaround for the team and myself, in the morning I was with Jenny for lunch but by 2:30 I was back at JPM. On this day Lancaster Catholic visited for a non-league game that has been years in the making. It's something Freddy has wanted to do since he came to McCaskey from LCHS in 2018 and it finally came together, in many ways this day was like an old-fashioned reunion (even for me to a certain degree thanks to my past association with LCHS). The JV squad entered and exited the weekend still looking for its first win, on the good side the varsity evened its overall mark at 3-3 with a tough 58-47 win. Not everybody on the LCHS roster is a "city kid" but there is still a good degree of familiarity, the game was well worth the price of admission. De'Shaun McFadden scored eighteen points (for the second consecutive game) to lead JPM, Jonathan Byrd and Nemias Tirado had eleven each, Eric Centeno scored eight points, Elias Garcia had six and Markelle Caine had four. There was a time when LC/JPM was a big deal in basketball but over the years it's fallen off somewhat thanks to the difference in the schools' enrollment sizes, maybe this day was the start of a new trend. In '21-22 JPM started 0-3 and didn't reach .500 until the last game of the season, this win pulls the club even through six games. I'll be away from the next two thanks to hockey with the Royals, my next time with JPM is on the 29th for the second night of our holiday tournament. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 12-15

The weekend rain was gone on Monday morning, Tuesday was another game night for the girls at McCaskey. JPM hosted Wilson (our old friends from suburban Reading), the JV suffered an uncompetitive loss while the varsity won by three points. The varsity is 5-1 thus far after winning only three games in '21-22, they have one last home date I should be able to make on Monday the 19th. On Wednesday I was On The Bus With The Boys for the first time, the destination was the borough of Manchester in northeastern York County for a date at the appropriately-named Northeastern HS (a number of schools in York Country are named for the region of the county they serve, there is also an Eastern, Northern, Southwestern and West York). I've been through the area before but not for a long time, this was my first time there for any athletic event. The JV squad fell to 0-2 with a one-point loss, the varsity game was also a one-pointer that ended in our favor. We trailed by ten entering the last quarter, in the final seconds with JPM trailing by one Jonathan Byrd was fouled and awarded two free throws. Jon uncharacteristically missed both, on the second attempt Markelle Caine pounced on the rebound and laid it in to put us ahead by one. NE quickly inbounded but a desperation heave at the buzzer missed badly, we escaped with the sorely-needed 56-55 win. Markelle was game-high with sixteen, Nemias Tirado also hit double-figures with twelve. Byrd had nine, Eric Centeno scored eight, Aiden Burgess added five, De'Shaun McFadden added four and Robert Lewis rounded out the book with a field goal. In '21-22 the club earned its first win in the season's fourth game but did not follow up in game #5, the current roster gets a chance to break that pattern with back-to-back home dates on the 16th and 17th. Thursday was one Miserable Day, rain moved in overnight and stayed well into the evening. Early-morning temperatures were low enough to cause icy conditions, by the time I went out there were no such issues. I made what rounds I needed to and came home glad to be inside and dry. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 9-11

Back at the Arena on Friday night, the Royals continued their mini-series with Allen. This was the club's annual Holiday Game, the Royals wore appropriately-themed specialty sweaters that were placed online for auction. The Royals entered on a five-game winning streak and the Americans were on a seven-game slide, both runs were ended on this night with a 3-1 Allen win. Shane Sellar scored the lone goal for the Royals, Pat Nagle was goalie of record. Saturday afternoon was spent at McCaskey, the girls basketball squads hosted Milton Hershey (from the town in Dauphin County world-famous for chocolate manufacturing) with the JV game at 1:00. Both JV and varsity were victorious, they play at home again on Tuesday the 13th. Sunday was a bleak and rainy day, the kind of day where I wouldn't have minded staying home and dry but duty called in Berks County one last time for the weekend. Faceoff at the Arena was at 3:00 for the Royals/Allen rubber match. This was billed as "Undie Sunday", fans were invited to bring new packaged undergarments to throw on the ice for charity when the Royals scored their first goal (similar to the Teddy Bear Toss, it gives the phrase "dropping one's drawers" a whole new meaning). The game was scoreless midway through the second period before Dominic Cormier sent the Unmentionables flying to give the Royals the lead. Twenty-eight seconds later Charlie Gerard dented the twine making it 2-0, twenty-nine seconds after that the Americans replied to cut the lead in half. In the final period newcomer Jordan Timmons (from Long Island University) gave the Royals a 3-1 advantage but the pesky Americans wouldn't go quietly, they pulled to within one and pressed for the tying goal but Pat Nagle and company closed the door for the 3-2 win. The Royals stand at 13-6-1 (8-3 at home), the club is on the road for two games before returning home on Wednesday the 21st. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 7-8

Wednesday night hockey at the Arena, the Allen Americans (from the greater Dallas, Texas area) visited for the first time since December 2018. This was the opener of a three-game series, on this night Max Newton gave the Royals a 1-0 lead just over a minute after the game started. The visitors from The Lone Star State battled back to take a 2-1 advantage at the period's midpoint, just over a minute later Charlie Gerard answered accordingly to tie the game 2-2. Mason Millman's goal fifty-eight seconds into the second period put the Royals ahead for good, five minutes later Devon Paliani lit the lamp on a breakaway to put the club up by two. In the final period Newton's second goal of the night put away a 5-2 victory, Pat Nagle (back from the Phantoms) was goalie of record. The mark stands at 12-5-1 (7-2 at home), the series with Allen continues on Friday the 9th. Thursday night was Opening Night at home for boys basketball at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted perennial state power Reading High. JPM has only four returnees from '21-22 and only one of them has more than one season of varsity experience, the roster is very definitely a work in progress. The JV squad made its season debut and took a twenty-five-point loss, the varsity game was more of the same as JPM lost 69-40. Eric Centeno led with 16, Jonathan Byrd and Elias Garcia had six each, DeShaun McFadden scored five points, Markell Caine had three, Nemias Tirado and Robert Lewis added two points each. The club stands at 0-3 out of the gate but it's not entirely surprising, all three games were against very strong opposition. Twelve of the team's twenty-two games are against non-league opponents and the entire point is to play the strongest competition, perhaps taking a couple of lumps and finding out what you need to do to improve. The boys play next on Wednesday the 14th on the road in northeastern York County. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 5-6

The new week began in typically quiet fashion on Monday, Tuesday night was the first winter sports event in the gym at McCaskey. I rarely get to see our girls basketball team play since most of their games coincide with when the boys are in action, on this night Warwick was the opponent for a non-league game. The LL League realigned for the new season from five divisions to four, the previously-mandated crossover games against the teams in Section Two are a thing of the past. Under the new alignment the girls play the same divisional opponents as the boys, two games each against old foes Hempfield, Manheim Township, Penn Manor and Cedar Crest plus new addition Lebanon with the remaining twelve games on the schedule against non-league opposition. In years past Warwick was either a divisional opponent or a crossover opponent, this time around the game had no bearing on league record whatsoever. This was a varsity-only game, the scheduled JV contest was postponed early in the afternoon. The girls program has struggled in recent years (3-19 in the '21-22 season), on this night they improved to 2-1 on the young season with a 60-39 win. As it stands they have three more home games in December that I may be able to see if the schedule holds up. The boys will have their turn on the home floor on Thursday night. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 2-4

Friday night: back at the Arena on Penn Street, the Royals were at home for the first time since November 20. The club was 2-1 on the road over the holiday weekend, on this night the Norfolk Admirals were in town for the first game of a back-to-back. Norfolk has struggled badly thus far, they entered with the league's worst record and were 0-11 on the road. In the opener on Friday the Ads scored in the first minute of play, another strike midway through the period gave Norfolk a 2-0 lead. Trey Bradley's goal just fifteen seconds later got the Royals on the board at 2-1, in the second a three-goal salvo put the club ahead for good. Scores from fellow rookies Brendan Hoffmann (from OHL Erie) and Jacob Gaucher (pronounced "go-Shay", from Baie-Comeau in the QMJHL) gave the Royals a 3-2 advantage, Max Newton lit the lamp late in the period extending the lead to two at the intermission. Norfolk cut the lead to 4-3 early in the third but replies from Newton and Bradley (with Trey's into the empty net) put the lid on a 6-3 Royals win. On Saturday it was the annual Teddy Bear Toss game, Jenny and Helen donated a number of stuffed animals to the cause. In the 2021 TBT game the fans had to wait until the third period to unleash the avalanche, on this night it happened fifteen minutes into the opening frame. Kamerin Nault (recently returned from injury) scored the "teddy-bear" goal giving the club a 1-0 lead, in the second Devon Paliani and Charlie Gerard struck forty-eight seconds apart making it 3-0 after two. The Admirals battled back and broke the shutout bid in the third but Dominic Cormier's empty-netter with eighteen seconds left salted away the 4-1 victory. Nolan Maier was goalie of record both nights as the Royals improve to 11-5-1, 6-2-0 at home. Since starting 1-4-1 the club has won ten of eleven, the only blemish coming on the last road trip. The boys stay at home for a three-game set with the Allen American on the 7th, 9th and 11th. Take care, thanks for reading.

November 25-December 1

Out and about on Black Friday morning, in my highway travels I happened to drive by the local shopping mall. The place has been around since 1971 and has expansive parking areas that are usually about 75% empty. On this day the traffic to get in was backed up onto the main road and the traffic to get out was backed up in the mall itself, if there was anywhere to park a car I surely didn't see it. I had not planned to go into the mall on this day to begin with and there was no way I would have tried, it was the textbook definition of Insanity. On Saturday the basketball team had a 10:00 scrimmage at home with Susquehanna Township, I was there for about an hour before I headed south for lunch with Jenny. She and her mother had appointments in Willow Street on Tuesday morning, I took them home and we did lunch along the way. In the evening the boys scrimmaged at home against league football foe Wilson, it got underway at 6:00 (there was a time when one of the scrimmages was at home and the other on the road in alternating fashion, a few years back it got twisted around somehow and it's never been corrected). Right now it looks like the organization will have twenty-eight total players evenly divided between varsity and JV. The varsity has four returnees (Jonathan Byrd, Eric Centeno, Elias Garcia and De'Shaun McFadden), six players from the '21-22 JV squad and four players new to the program. The club looked pretty good from what I saw in the scrimmages but every year is a brand-new year, you never really know what you have until the games start for real. The season begins with a tipoff tournament in Coatesville on December 2 and 3 (and I'm out both nights for hockey at the Arena), my personal season debut is the first home game on December 8. Take care, thanks for reading.