January 27-29

Had a call earlier in the week from Jerry Johnson at La Academia Charter School, his basketball team had a game on Friday night and he asked if I'd be available. LA has no home gym but they manage to play a few "home" games at facilities around the city, in December I worked one of them when they played at a local college gym. The game on this night was scheduled the very week it happened, both teams had an open date and needed an opponent. It was played at a sports complex about ten miles west of the city which has been in business for about a decade or so, I've been there before but not anytime recently. There are ten hardwood basketball courts in the building located almost literally side-by-side, it made for an experience very different from the usual high-school gym atmosphere. The benches and scorer's table were flush against the wall on one side of the court, there was a row of chairs for spectators on the other side and many others were watching from the second-floor walkway/overhang at the one end of the floor. It was La Academia's Senior Night, before the game we recognized Luis Marinez and Jonathan Orr as the team's graduating seniors. The game itself started shortly after 5:00 and all went well except for the final score, LA lost to Pottstown 66-56. Saturday night was hockey night in downtown Reading, the Royals hosted the Worcester Railers in the back end of a home-and-away series. This was Affiliation Night, the club wore orange and black Flyers-themed sweaters which were later auctioned online. The Royals had lost in Worcester in overtime on Friday, on this night the club took another one-goal loss in regulation time. Goals by Charlie Gerard and Devon Paliani gave the home team a 2-0 first-period lead but the Railers replied with a single score in each period and took it 3-2, Nolan Maier was goaltender of record. The loss ends a four-game standings-point streak and drops the record to 25-12-2, 13-6 at home. The next home game is on February 4 when the Adirondack Thunder visits. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 23-26

A two-game basketball week started on Tuesday, we were back on the bus for another trip north on route 72 into Lebanon County. The club started the season with three road games within the first four, that was followed by six straight at home. This game was the last of three straight on the road and seven of the last nine (although it was played at a neutral site I consider the game in Reading a road game simply because it wasn't played in our building). We were in Lebanon County on the 12th at Cedar Crest, on this night we were two miles further north in the city of Lebanon proper. There was a time when McCaskey and Lebanon were keen rivals, the schools were together in the old Central Penn League before the LL was formed in 1972. In recent years the rivalry has cooled somewhat with Lebanon being a less frequent opponent but league realignment has brought the teams back into the same division for the first time since 2018. Lebanon has been strong over the last few seasons but they graduated just about everybody from their '22 squad, they entered this night still looking for their first win. JPM took command almost immediately, we were up by thirteen at the quarter and eighteen at the half. The final was 66-35 with four players hitting double figures: Deshaun McFadden led with twelve, Eric Centeno had eleven, Jonathan Byrd and Markelle Caine had ten each. One always tries to respect the opponent but quite frankly this was a game we had no business losing, in the locker room I joked to Freddy that maybe we should have walked home had we lost (similar to that famous occasion when a baseball broadcaster made the same statement and actually did so later for charity). On Thursday the boys were at home to host Manheim Township and a completely different game was in store. JPM had won at MT by thirteen earlier in the month, on this night the rematch was your typical LL Section One knock-down drag-out fifteen-round fight-to-the-finish. We were up by one with three seconds left and Township inbounding, Jonathan Byrd stole the inbounds pass and was immediately fouled. He made one-of-two to put us up by two, on the following inbounds play a desperation heave by MT clanked off the rim at the buzzer. The final was 57-55, Jon had a huge night with 21 points, Deshaun had thirteen and Eric added eleven. Elias Garcia, Markelle Caine and Aiden Burgess had two points each but the game's unsung hero was Kaiden Russell who scored six key points in his season debut. The week's results bring the league mark to 6-2 and the overall record to 11-9 with two big games left on the regular season slate. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 20-22

Friday night hockey at the Arena, the Royals hosted the Norfolk Admirals for the third of the Ads' four visits. This was the front end of a home-and-away series, the clubs were scheduled to meet again in Virginia on Saturday night. On the surface it appeared to be a mismatch with the Royals having one of the league's better records thus far and Norfolk near the bottom, on this night the Royals ran out to a 3-0 second-period lead on scores by Alec Butcher, Mason Millman and Trey Bradley. After Norfolk got on the board Charlie Gerard lit the lamp putting the Royals up 4-1. The pesky Admirals didn't quit, a late score in the second and an early marker in the third made it a 4-3 game but Max Newton's empty-netter in the final minutes wrapped up the 5-3 Royals win. Nolan Meier was goaltender of record as the club reaches the midpoint of its home schedule at 13-5-0. On Saturday morning we were at it bright and early, the bus left McCaskey at 9:15 for a varsity-only game at Reading High. This was the annual showcase event we play in every year (at least in those years it happens, it's been postponed by weather and other circumstances five times in the past eight years). Tipoff was at 11:00 versus Central Dauphin East, a program that has become a regular non-league opponent in recent seasons. This game was the perfect end to a forgettable week of basketball, we lost 70-63. After the Tuesday loss at home to Unionville the boys played at Penn Manor on Friday and lost by twelve (to a team they had beaten by twenty-two at home in December), with the early start on this day neither team seemed to have a lot of energy and it showed. JPM finishes its nonleague schedule at 5-7, the overall record drops to .500 at 9-9. Four games remain, all in league play and the last three of them at home. The Royals won in Norfolk on Saturday night to reach the full season's midpoint at 24-11-1, the next home game is on Saturday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 16-19

The new week began with an atypical Monday, this was the annual Martin Luther Day afternoon game at the Arena. The Maine Mariners were in town for the last of their two regular-season appearances (how we host a divisional opponent only twice in a 72-game season is one of the great mysteries of the ECHL schedule format). On this day the visitors from The Pine Tree State took a 2-0 first-period lead, a second-period score by Alec Butcher and Devon Paliani's goal with three minutes left in regulation time pulled the Royals even. Thirty seconds after the tying score the Mariners were awarded a power play and cashed it in, an empty-netter with ten seconds left clinched a 4-2 Maine win. Nolan Maier (back from the Phantoms with Pat Nagle returning to the AHL) took the loss as the Royals drop to 22-11-1, 12-5 at the Arena. The Royals reach the home season's midpoint on Friday the 20th versus Norfolk, a visit to Viginia the next night marks the full season's halfway mark. Tuesday was a basketball night at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Unionville (from southern Chester County) in the season's eleventh non-league game. The night started well enough with the JV squad winning its fifth consecutive game to reach .500 at 6-6, the varsity game was another story altogether. We didn't know a lot about our opponent (I don't recall ever playing them before) outside of the fact that they play in PIAA District One and were 13-1 but we quickly found out that their record was not a fluke. This game was like watching the game at Hempfield all over again, the only difference being the opponent and the venue. Unionville took control almost from the word Go and absolutely COULD NOT MISS, when the agony finally ended it was 71-45 (the same twenty-six-point margin we had lost by to Hempfield the previous Tuesday). You must give the opponent full credit, they played an excellent game and won fair and square. The problem was our club's effort which was discussed at length in the locker room after the game. The overall mark stands at 9-7 with six games left, five of them within our division. The boys start the second half of league play with a trip to Penn Manor on the 20th. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 13-15

Friday night on Penn Street in downtown Reading, the Royals hosting the Adirondack Thunder for the first of a back-to-back. The Thunder visited twice in November and lost both, in the Friday opener the Royals extended that streak to three. ADK scored first in game's fourth minute but from there it was all Royals emphatically. Charlie Girard's score tied the game at 1-1, in the final thirty seconds of the period Tyler Kirkup put the Royals up 2-1. In the second Alec Butcher extended the advantage to two, midway through the third Garrett McFadden scored ten seconds after exiting the penalty box to make it 4-1. In the closing moments Butcher netted his second goal of the evening to put the cap on a 5-1 Royals win. On Saturday afternoon the teams reconvened for a rare 4:00 start, this was Flintstones Night with the Royals wearing special sweaters saluting the well-known Modern Stone-Age Family. On this day the visiting "ThundeRocks" once again scored first, that lead held up well into the third period before the "RoyalStones" came alive. Tyler Kirkup drew the game even eight minutes into the period, just over five minutes later Charlie Gerard tapped home a rebound to put the Royals ahead. Brenden Hoffman's empty-netter in the final minute wrapped up the 3-1 win and the weekend sweep, Pat Nagle (back from a stint with the Phantoms) picked up both wins in goal. The Royals have gone 22-7 since starting 0-3-1, the full record of 22-10-1 includes a home-ice mark of 12-4. The club stays home for the annual Martin Luther King Day game on Monday afternoon. It was a good day all the way around, saw on the internet where JPM won on Saturday in my absence. The boys hosted John Bartram (from Philadelphia) in a non-league game and won 83-70 to improve to 9-6 overall, the next game is another non-leaguer at home on Tuesday the 17th. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 9-12

Tuesday afternoon on the bus at McCaskey for the start of what figured to be a tough week of basketball. The club has three games on the docket, the first two on the road against divisional opponents. On this night we traveled west on route 283 for a date with division-favorite Hempfield and the only good thing about it was the JV squad winning its game. The varsity contest was an exercise in abject frustration, we started slowly and never recovered in an 81-55 defeat. Give our opponent full credit, they played about as well as they could have but for JPM it was almost polar-opposite. We trailed by sixteen at halftime, got as close as nine in the third quarter but in the fourth the gas tank ran dry. Johnathan Byrd had a big night with 26 points but there was little support otherwise and it all means very little when you don't Win The Game. On Thursday the gauntlet continued with a ride north into Lebanon County and the annual visit to Cedar Crest. This is another place within our league where you simply never feel comfortable, over the years we've had some knock-down drag-out battles there and this night was no different. The JV squad continued its run with a third straight win, the varsity game was in many ways a mirror-image of Tuesday. We trailed by twelve at halftime and by five entering the final quarter, when the buzzer sounded JPM prevailed in a nail-biter 51-49. CC had the last possession with four seconds left, a jump shot was missed and the rebound-layup rolled around the rim for what seemed like an eternity before it finally dropped off and out at the buzzer. Eight players appeared for JPM, only five scored but four hit double figures: Markelle Caine led with 13, Byrd and DeShaun McFadden had 12 each and Eric Centeno scored ten, Anthony Henson rounded out the book with four key points. It was a huge TEAM win which helps to wash away some of the vile taste of Tuesday's effort. The first half of divisional play is in the books, the club's mark is 4-1 with the overall record at 8-6. The boys play a non-league game at home on Saturday the 14th but I'm out of the mix, the Royals are at home on Friday AND Saturday. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 6-8

Friday afternoon: at McCaskey for the short bus ride into the northern suburbs, the destination was Neffsville for a divisional game at Manheim Township. The first two games within the league were both at home, this was the first of five straight on the road. The JV squad got the night started on the good side with their second win of the season, the varsity held serve with a 62-49 victory. Whenever we play within our division (and especially on the road) you know you're going to get the opponent's best shot but this night was unusual. We led by ten after one and fourteen at the half, Township never quite went away but at the same time they never seriously threatened. I wouldn't say it was an easy win because such things don't exist for us but it was not the usual dogfight most may have expected. Eleven players got into the game and six made the scoring column: Markelle Caine led with 16, Jonathan Byrd scored 12, Nemias Tirado added 11 and Eric Centeno hit double figures with ten, Elis Garcia had eight points and Aiden Burgess closed it out with five. The club reached the midpoint of its schedule at 7-4, by contrast the '21-22 team didn't get its seventh win until the season's seventeenth game. The guys didn't get a lot of time to enjoy the win, they were back at it early on Saturday afternoon at a showcase event at Red Lion HS in York County. I was absent but I saw later where the boys lost to Central York, they play next on Tuesday the 10th. Saturday was a hockey night on Penn Street in downtown Reading, the Worcester Railers were in town for the first of their three regular-season visits. The Royals went 3-1 on the most recent road swing including a come-from-behind OT win in Worcester on Friday. The rematch on Saturday night at the Arena remained scoreless until deep into the second period, Tyler Kirkup lit the lamp to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Shane Sellar found the net early in the third making it 2-0 but the visitors from central Massachusetts pulled to within one with fifteen minutes left. There was no further scoring as the Royals earned the weekend sweep 2-1, Nolan Meier (back from a stint with the Phantoms) was the winning goaltender. The club hits the thirty-game mark at 20-9-1 overall, 10-4 at home. Since starting the season 0-3-1 they have won twenty of the last twenty-six, the next game at the Arena is on Friday the 13th. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 1-5

The 23rd year of the 21st century began with a typically innocuous Sunday, unless we would have an afternoon ice hockey game at the Arena or we'd be playing the weekend street hockey league in Rothsville (which is currently out of season) there is almost nothing ever going on a Sunday. The first noteworthy activity of the new year was Wednesday night basketball at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Dallastown (from York County) in a nonleague contest. Under the current league/division alignment we play ten games that are mandated by the league, the remaining twelve are against opposition from outside our division and count only towards the overall record. We played a neutral-site district playoff game in Dallastown's gym in 2016 but this was the first time we had played Dallastown for as far back as I could recall and I've been around the program since 1988. The JV squad has struggled thus far, on this night they took their sixth loss in seven games. The varsity game was a battle to the end, when the smoke cleared JPM emerged victorious 62-56. Three players scored in double figures for the Good Guys: Eric Centeno led with 17, Jonathan Byrd had 14 and Elias Garcia added 12. Nemias Tirado scored eight points, Markelle Caine had six and Aiden Burgess rounded out the book with five. Since starting 0-3 the club has won six of seven to improve to 6-4 overall, we're back into league play for our next three games with all of them on the road. Take care, thanks for reading.