February 26-29

The new week began in the accustomed Monday manner, on Tuesday Jenny was in town for the rescheduled appointment from the week before and this time it actually took place. Wednesday was a hockey night at the Arena for the second consecutive week, the Wheeling Nailers were the opponent for the last of their five visits. The Nailers are one of only five other franchises still around from the Royals' debut season in 2001-02, they have been based in Wheeling since 1992. To show you how much the ECHL has changed since the Royals started: in '01-02 the club's home schedule featured the Trenton Titans, Roanoke Express, Greensboro Generals, Charlotte Checkers, Johnstown Chiefs, Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies (no kidding), Dayton Bombers, Peoria Rivermen and Richmond Renegades in addition to still-active Western Conference opponents Wheeling, Toledo (who we haven't seen at the Arena since November of 2019) and Cincinnati (absent from Reading since February of '18). The Royals entered on this night 0-for the season versus Wheeling with two overtime losses being all the club had to show for it, this was the last game of the season series and the Royals finally broke through in a big way. Shane Sellar gave the Good Guys a 1-0 lead in the first period, in the second Ryan Cox cashed in on a power play to put the Royals up by two. Fifteen seconds later newcomer Justin Michaelian (pronounced "mi-KALE-ee-in") made it 3-0, Mason Millman lit the lamp in the third period for the game's final goal. At the other end of the ice Nolan Maier was superb stopping all forty-two shots he faced for his second shutout of the season and the team's third (Parker Gahagen had one vs Worcester back in January). Maier's first credited shutout was actually a 1-0 shootout loss earlier in the month, this time around he and the club were able to celebrate a W. The win draws the record at home to "hockey .500" at 12-12-3, overall 21-24-7. This was the first of five straight at the Arena, the homestand continues with the Adirondack Thunder for a back-to-back on March 1 and 2. Take care, thanks for reading

February 21-25

Wednesday night hockey at the Arena with the Royals and the Newfoundland Growlers in the concluding game of the three-game series. Ever since they joined the ECHL in 2018 the Growlers have been one of the league's more affluent franchises with a solid NHL affiliation, the current club is not as strong as previous editions but they are still a very tough out. On this night Joseph Nardi gave the Royals a 1-0 lead in the first period, Newfoundland scored four times unanswered in the middle frame to carry a three-goal advantage into the third. An early score by Yvan Mongo and a late goal from Ryan Cox pulled the Royals to within one, a Growler empty-netter with five seconds left put the lid on a 5-3 Royals loss. Nolan Maier took the decision as the Royals home record drops to 11-12-3 but taking two of three against a difficult opponent is still a good thing. The rest of the week had little going outside of Saturday lunch with Jenny and two road games for the Royals, the club lost on Friday but rebounded with a Saturday win to bring the overall mark to 20-24-7. The February portion of the schedule finishes with a home game with Wheeling on Wednesday the 28th. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 19-20

Up and out early on Monday morning for the annual President's Day game at the Arena and game #2 with Newfoundland. Since Jason Binkley was named interim head coach a good number of new faces have been added in an effort to find a winning formula, on this day two of them played major roles. The visitors from "The Rock" took a 1-0 lead in the game's first five minutes but the Royals responded on a Jake Bricknell score thirty-eight seconds later to draw even at 1-1. That score held into the final four minutes of regulation when newcomer Ryan Cox netted his first as a Royal giving the Good Guys a one-goal advantage. Down the stretch the Growlers brought the heat but Anson Thornton and company held the fort for a big 2-1 win in regulation. Cox was named the game's #2 star, Thornton was #1. The club stands at 19-22-7 overall and 11-11-3 at home, the series with Newfoundland wraps up on Wednesday night. On Tuesday we figured on a lunch date because Jenny had a morning appointment in the city....or so we thought. When she arrived via access van they told her they were implementing a new scheduling system and her appointment was switched to the 27th at the same time. All of this happening despite the fact that she received a call the previous Friday confirming her appointment for the 20th and also that NOBODY called her about the late change. Needless to say she was upset when she called me (can't blame her a bit, I'd be outright pissed), after I picked her up we went to her mother's eye doctor. Helen had come into town on the same van, she was there to get a new pair of eyeglasses. Everything ended up working out but they certainly did not make it easy. Take care, thanks for reading. 

February 12-18

With the end of high school basketball we hit the usual slow period, the week past had little going except for two snow events and one hockey game at the Arena. Overnight into Tuesday we had some light rain followed by snow, in the morning I cleared the front sidewalk with little difficulty. Bright sunshine helped with the melting process, travel for the morning errand run was no trouble at all. A similar situation was forecast overnight into Saturday but this time around it was largely a fizzle. By morning it was clear and sunny, what little snowfall we had overnight was long gone and the streets and sidewalks were in fine shape. In the evening Jenny and her mother were at the Arena for the first time in three weeks, they missed the games on February 3 and 4 because Jenny was under the weather. Several members of the staff had noted their absence and were glad to see them back. The Royals went 0-2-1 on the most recent road swing, on this night the Newfoundland Growlers were in town for the first of a three-game series. After a scoreless first period the Royals fell behind by a goal twice in the second period but replied both times on answers from Adam Brubacher and Mason Millman. In the third period Darren Brady (back in the lineup from an extended injury absence) gave the Royals their first lead of the night but the gang from Atlantic Canada pulled even to send the game into overtime. The extra seven minutes passed without resolution, in the shootout Shane Sellar netted the only goal giving the Royals a much-needed 4-3 win. Recently-added Anson Thornton made his home debut in net and earned the decision, he's a first-year pro on loan from the Arizona Coyotes organization. The Royals stand at 18-22-7 (10-11-3 at home), the series continues on President's Day Monday afternoon and Wednesday night. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 9-11

McCaskey basketball postmortem: the JV squad played a very rare 22-game schedule of its own and finished 9-13, 3-7 against divisional competition and 6-5 at home. Avery Stauffer led the club in points (234) and average (12.3), he was the only player to average double figures. Sixteen players were on the roster, eight of them also appeared in a varsity game. The story of the varsity season could easily be told in two parts. Through nine games the club was 4-5, in game #10 Jared Kumah was lost for the duration with a lower-body injury. JPM lost that night but won its next game to reach the midpoint at 5-6. From there the bottom dropped out, the club went just 2-9 in the back half and finished 7-15. There is no question that any team losing its leading scorer will be hampered but the team simply never recovered from Jared's absence. The club was 4-6 within the division and 4-7 at home. The average margin of victory was 7.1 points, the average loss was by 17.1. De'Andre Jones led in points (288) and average (16.0), Jared averaged 14.7 in the ten games he appeared in. Seventeen players appeared in at least one game including seven listed as seniors, not all were still around at season's end but that's the usual battle of attrition we seem to face year after year. On Sunday the 11th the booster club sponsored a team outing to a college basketball game in Philadelphia, we left at 10:00 for the noon tipoff at the Wells Fargo Center. I'd been there before for hockey games but not in better than twenty years (at least), this was obviously my first time there for basketball and for most of the kids it was their first time there at all. Villanova (one of Philadelphia's fabled City Six) was the home team, they hosted league rival Seton Hall (from northern New Jersey, about fifteen miles west of New York City) in a Big East game and won 80-54. Over thirteen thousand were in attendance, by the time we got out of the lot and back to town it was almost 4:30. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 5-8

Monday night at McCaskey for one last girls' game, this was recently added as a makeup from a snow weekend in January. Cedar Cliff (from suburban Harrisburg, not to be confused with Cedar CREST) was the opponent, it was a rough night for JPM with both JV and varsity coming out on the losing end. Tuesday was a long day that started early, we'll review its events in reverse order. In late afternoon we boarded the bus at McCaskey for the final game of the boys' season, the scene was Cedar Crest (in suburban Lebanon, not to be confused with Cedar CLIFF). The JV squad suffered its fifth consecutive loss to finish at 9-13, the varsity game was regrettably never really in doubt. We were down nineteen at the quarter and twenty-three at halftime, the mercy rule kicked in midway through the third quarter. The final was 67-44 bringing the final varsity record to 7-15. We had only eight players available for the varsity game, every JV player not already on the varsity roster was made eligible to appear if needed. I've been at it at McCaskey for thirty-six years now and each one seems to go faster and faster, this season ended a mere nine weeks and four days after it started. This day began with a 7:00 wakeup call, by 7:30 I was on the road north. The annual Education Day faced off at 10:30 with the Wheeling Nailers as the opposition, this was the first home game of the season that featured an opponent making just this one appearance. Tyson Fawcett gave the Royals a 1-0 lead late in the first period but from there it was all Wheeling, the Nailers tied it in the second and scored twice in the third to win 3-1. Nolan Maier was goalie of record as the club falls to 17-20-6, 9-11-3 at the Arena. The club returns home from a three-game road trip on Saturday the 17th. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 3-4

Saturday night at the Arena for the annual Pink In The Rink Night for breast cancer awareness. The Royals hosted the Adirondack Thunder in the second of a weekend three-in-three and the first home game under interim head coach Jason Binkley. The clubs met in Glens Falls on Friday with the Thunder winning in overtime, on this night in downtown Reading three full periods plus seven minutes of overtime failed not only to produce a winner but even a single goal. In the shootout ADK outscored the Royals two goals to one and prevailed by the official final of 1-0. Nolan Meier took the tough-luck loss but both goaltenders receive credit for a shutout since shootout goals do not count towards individual stats, for the record Ryan Chyzowski accounted for the Royals' lone shootout marker. On Sunday the teams faced off at 3:00 with the Royals wearing specialty sweaters recognizing the Chinese New Year Of The Dragon and another knockdown drag-out battle to the end was in store. The visitors from the North Country took a 1-0 lead early in the first period and held that lead until the tail-end of the middle period, with four seconds left Brayden Guy found the net to pull the Royals even at 1-1. It stayed tied throughout the remainder of regulation, with thirty seconds left before overtime the Royals were awarded a power play opportunity. In the OT it took all of eighteen seconds for the Royals to capitalize, Adam Brubacher's drive from the left point gave Nolan Maier and the rest of the Good Guys a much-needed 2-1 win. Tempers flared as the teams were leaving the ice, one man on each side received a major penalty for fighting and a game misconduct. Adirondack entered the weekend in first place in the division and earned five points in the standings but the Royals were able to earn four of their own which is more than acceptable. By the time the day was over the clubs had played three games in less than forty-seven hours, all three requiring extra time. The Royals stand at 17-19-6 (9-10-3 at home), they are back at it on Tuesday the 6th for the annual Education Day game starting early at 10:30. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 1-2

Thursday night basketball at home for the JPM girls, one of the rare occasions for me to see them play. Hempfield was the opponent for a divisional game, the JV lost and the varsity won. On Friday night it was the boys' turn with Hempfield, we boarded the bus for the short trip west of the city to Landisville. These games had originally been scheduled for Thursday as well, they were switched apparently because of scheduling conflicts at Hempfield. On this night the JV squad dropped its fourth consecutive game, the varsity started slowly but rallied back for a spectacular victory. We trailed by four at the quarter and nine at halftime, entering the fourth quarter the deficit was eleven. In the final period JPM responded with a twenty-eight-point salvo and held on for the 65-58 decision, the twenty-eight points equaling the output for the entire game two nights earlier in Carlisle. De'Andre Jones had a monster night with 25 points, Kamryn Pugh had 11 and Aiden Burgess scored ten, Eddie Bencosme added nine key points, Cesar Peguero had six, Avery Stauffer and Sincere Diego had a field goal each. Hempfield is in the running for league and district playoffs, this is a result that few expected but for JPM it's a breath of fresh air in what has been an exceptionally difficult season. The win ends a four-game losing streak and brings the mark to 7-14 with one last game on the slate on Tuesday the 6th when we make the trip to Cedar Crest. Take care thanks for reading.