The beginning of November was as quiet as the end of October, on the 3rd we were in Rothsville for the last regular-season week of street hockey at Lions Park. For a third consecutive week a full three-quarters of the enrollment was present, thirty-six of the forty-eight played on this day. Warwick defeated Township via shootout and Ephrata won over Hillside, the postseason games are on November 10. We had planned on playing the September 29 rainouts on that day but that won't happen for two reasons: (1) they don't matter because all four spots in the standings are clinched and (2) they are the same matchups that are happening in the postseason (Hillside vs Township in the consolation game, Ephrata vs Warwick for the championship). On Wednesday night we were with the Royals at the Arena, the Norfolk Admirals were the opponent for the first of their seven visits. The Royals struggled through a difficult 0-4 road trip, on this night the winless streak reached five with a 6-5 loss in overtime. The first scores didn't come until the second period, Phantoms assignee Matt Miller and team captain Todd Skirving lit the lamp fifty seconds apart but the Admirals rallied to tie it 2-2 at the intermission. Norfolk took the lead thirty-eight seconds into the third before Travis Broughman brought the Royals even, another Ads goal was countered by Gianfranco Cassaro (another Phantom assignee) to make it 4-4 midway through the period. Tyler Gratton gave the Royals a 5-4 lead with five minutes left, in the final moments Norfolk tied it with goalie pulled to force the game into OT. Midway through the extra period the Admirals were awarded a power play and cashed in on it for the win, Parker Gahagen was the Royals goalie of record. The club stands at 1-1-1 on home ice and 4-5-1 overall, the Indy Fuel visits from the league's Western Conference on the 9th and 10th. Take care, thanks for reading.
