January 27-31

The final five days of January featured one night of evening activity, that came on Thursday night when the basketball team traveled southwest through the city to suburban Millersville. Since the league began in 1972 Penn Manor is an opponent that has ALWAYS been in our division along with Hempfield, Manheim Township and Cedar Crest, over time other opponents have shifted in and out but those four have been the constants. In recent years the school building at PM has undergone massive renovations which are now largely completed, the last time I made it there personally was in December 2021 (the Royals kept me away each of the last two years). In '21 our locker room was an unfinished classroom across the hall from the gym, this time we were in a legitimate team room that was a two-minute walk to-and-from the gym. It was a great night for the organization all the way around, the JV avenged an earlier loss by earning their seventh win and the varsity made it a season-sweep with a 57-47 victory. Seven players appeared and six of them scored, three in double figures. Deandre Jones was high man with 15, Jaloney Porter had 14 and Avery Stauffer had 11, Eddie Bencosme added eight key points, Amir Thompson-Hanson had six and Adrian Rodriguez added three. Two games remain for the club, on February 1 at Milton Hershey (I'm out for the Royals) and at home for Senior Night against Hempfield on the 4th. Friday was a miserably rainy day with temperatures in the 40s, it did wonders for washing away some of the leftover gunk from two weeks earlier. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 21-26

Tuesday marked the start of a three-game week for basketball, we were at home for a non-league contest with Lancaster Catholic. The visitors from the suburban neighborhood of Rossmere are having a rough year of their own, the varsity entered the night winless and the JV squad wasn't doing much better. Even though it was only a non-league game it was a "must-win" if there ever was one for JPM just simply for pride if nothing else. The JV won their game by ten, the varsity followed suit with a 71-49 victory. Deandre Jones hit for 25 and Jaloney Porter had 12 as the only two in double figures. On Thursday we were back in divisional play as the boys traveled into the northern suburbs to Manheim Township. Every time we play in that gym it seems that we take a 100% Major League Screw-Job but on this night it wasn't needed because we never showed up. Both JV and varsity lost, the varsity final was 68-52. MT did anything they wanted to do and there was little if any resistance offered, Amir Thompson-Hanson (ten points) was the only one in double figures for JPM. The downbeat continued at home on Saturday afternoon, John Bartram visited from Philadelphia for the season's penultimate non-league game. The JPM JV squad picked up its sixth win in the prelim, in the main event it was the Same Sad Story with a 72-53 loss. Deandre Jones had 12, Avery Stauffer and Anthony Jimenez added ten each but it wasn't anywhere near enough to prevent a fourteenth loss in nineteen games. The boys have off until the 30th when they travel to Penn Manor, on February 1 they visit Milton Hershey before the season (mercifully) ends at home with Hempfield on the 4th. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 18-20

Back at the Arena on Saturday night for game #2 with Jacksonville. It was Flyers Affiliation Night, the Royals wore orange-and-black sweaters. As a Detroit Red Wings property new goaltender Gage Alexander's equipment (face mask, glove, blocker and leg pads) is all red-and-white, it made for an interesting color combination where he was concerned. On this night the Royals took a 2-0 lead in the first eight minutes on scores by Tyson Kirkby and Brock Caufield separated by just thirty-nine seconds, early in the middle period the visiting Icemen got on the board to make it 2-1. That would prove to be the final score as Alexander got the start, earned the win and the game's #1 star in his Royals debut. There was a major snow event in the forecast for Sunday, when I got home on Saturday I parked my car strategically. There is an abandoned bank building across the street from my address with a drive-up window and a canopy, I parked directly under the canopy and hoped for the best. The snow arrived as expected in early afternoon, the Monday newspaper had an article claiming we got seven inches of it in the city. The Royals met Jacksonville in the rubber game of the series on Monday afternoon, my car was partially snow-covered in the morning but nowhere near what it might have been otherwise, the drive north was also of little concern. At the Arena at High Noon the Royals scored first on a Tyler Gratton breakaway but Jacksonville retaliated with two goals and led 2-1 at the intermission. In the second period the Royals struck back on goals from Cam Cook and Austin Master, early in the third the pesky Icemen found the net to tie the score 3-3. In the final three minutes the Royals were skating short-handed when Tyler Gratton stole the puck and scored on a breakaway to give the Royals the lead, Ryan Leibold's empty-netter with a minute left sealed the 5-3 win. Gage Alexander started for the second consecutive game and earned his second win in a Royals uniform. The club reaches the midpoint of the home schedule at 7-7-4 ("hockey .500"), overall the record stands at 15-19-5. The Royals play the next three on the road, we're back home on February 1 with the Adirondack Thunder. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 16-17

Thursday night at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Cedar Crest. Back in December JPM beat Crest in their building in what can now be termed a major upset, we have struggled ever since while CC recovered from that loss and are tied for first in the division. On this night the JV squad fell to 4-10 with a one-sided loss, the varsity battled to the end but lost 55-51. Jaloney Porter was the only man in double figures for JPM with twenty. It's not entirely surprising that CC won the game because right now there are clearly the better team but it was much closer that most might have expected and I'm sure they probably felt lucky to get out of town with a W. JPM plays next in a showcase event at Reading High on the 18th (I'm out for the Royals), the next home game is on Tuesday the 21st with Lancaster Catholic. On Friday it was a hockey night at the Arena, the Jacksonville Icemen visited from the league's Southern Division for the first time since November 2017. Earlier in the week the club lost Keith Petruzzelli on recall to the AHL Phantoms, with Vinnie Purpura still out as well the Royals brought in goaltenders Ty Taylor from SPHL Evansville and Gage Alexander on loan from the Detroit Red Wings organization. Matt Brown gave the Royals a 1-0 lead five minutes into the game but the Icemen evened it before the intermission, in the second Brown struck again to put the Royals up 2-1. Goals from newcomer Tyson Kirkby (from FPHL Binghamton) and Ryan Leibold extended the advantage to 4-1 but J-Ville replied with two of their own making it 4-3 entering the final period. The Icemen tied it five minutes in, that 4-4 score held through the rest of regulation and The Dreaded Overtime. The game went to a shootout (the first at home since February of '24), Jacksonville outscored the Royals one goal to none and won it 5-4. Ty Taylor made his Royals debut in net and played very well despite the result, the club drops to 13-19-5 overall and 5-7-4 at home. The Icemen stay in town for games on Saturday night and Monday afternoon. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 13-15

Monday night basketball in Lancaster, the second half of the league schedule began with a rematch against Lebanon. The schools were rivals in the old Central Penn League into the early '70s, that rivalry continued when the LL was formed in 1972. Over the years Lebanon has been in-and-out of the division because of enrollment but historically Lebanon/McCaskey games have rarely been for the faint of heart. Lebanon has struggled badly over the last two years, they entered this season on a 44-game losing streak. Back on December 13 we played in their gym and lost by seven (Lebanon had three wins prior to that game so at least we were spared the ignominy of being their first victim), on this night exactly thirty-one days later we were able to exact a measure of revenge. The JV squad won by thirty-two (their largest winning margin of the season), in the varsity contest JPM won 67-60. We were down one after the first quarter, six at the break and three entering the last quarter, in the final period we outscored them by ten and pulled out the victory to even the league mark at 3-3. Deandre Jones had a big night with 19, Jaloney Porter had 17 and Avery Stauffer reached double figures with 12. Anthony Jimenez added nine, Eddie Bencosme scored seven and Amir Thompson-Hanson rounded out the book with three. The boys play next at home on Thursday the 16th when Cedar Crest comes to town (and you know they will be foaming at the mouth after what happened in Cornwall in December). Had lunch with Jenny and her mother on Wednesday, it's been a little over eight weeks since Jenny had her surgery and you can see the difference already. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 10-12

Friday night at the Arena in downtown Reading for the season's first three-in-three at home, the Trois-Rivieres Lions visited from the province of Quebec for the first time since December of 2023. In the Friday opener the Royals scored first on an opening-period marker from Brock Caufield (brother of current NHLer Cole Caufield) but that would be the lone score in a rather pedestrian 4-1 loss, Keith Petruzzelli took the decision in goal. Saturday night was Star Wars Night at the Arena, on this night the FOURS was with the Royals. Goals from Matt Brown and recent addition Cam Cook gave the good guys a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes, midway through the period Tyler Gratton hit the net and in the closing moments Gianfranco Cassaro upped the advantage to 4-0. In the second a Todd Skirving goal was sandwiched between two scores for Trois-Rivieres, in the third the visiting Lions made it close with two more but the Royals held on for a 5-4 win. It was a physical game and both teams paid the price, in the middle period starting goalie Vinnie Purpura was injured in a goalmouth scramble and left the game. In the third Connor McMenamin was involved in a collision along the boards, he was removed on a gurney and taken to a local facility. In the rubber game on Sunday afternoon the Royals were able to field a full lineup (such as it was with TEN players on the injured list) but the Lions played with only sixteen skaters (you're allowed eighteen) as the battle of attrition was on full display. Games like this are always interesting because by the time it ends the teams will have played three full games in less than forty-eight hours and it's mostly a matter of who can suck it up and bring the energy. On this afternoon the visitors took a 2-0 lead in the first, goals by Todd Skirving and Cam Cook in the second plus another for TR made it 3-2 entering the final period. Early in the third Skirving cashed in on a power play to tie the score, with nine minutes left Tyler Gratton struck to give the Royals a 4-3 lead. Down the stretch the Lions pulled the goalie for the extra attacker but were unable to find the equalizer, the Royals took it 4-3. Keith Petruzzelli won for the second straight day (having also earned the win in relief of Purpura on Saturday). The Royals hit the midpoint of the overall schedule at 13-19-4, the home record 5-7-3. The club stays home for games on Friday the 17th and the following night plus a High Noon game on Martin Luther King Monday. Take care, thanks for reading. 

January 6-9

Had a shot of the Ugly White Stuff overnight into Monday, according to the newspaper it amounted to about three inches. The snow was rather light and fluffy, I had the car cleaned off before I went out for lunch and the front walk was cleared when I came home. I'm not sure how wise it is for a 68-year-old to be doing it (luckily it didn't take long) but in my town the walks have to be cleared by a certain time after the precipitation ends or the Boys In Blue come knocking on your door. Temperatures through the early part of the week were frigid and the wind chill factor made it feel like single digits. On Wednesday I saw Jenny and her mother for lunch, in the evening we were at McCaskey. Divisional play continued on this night with Penn Manor visiting from the southwest suburbs, JPM lost the JV game by four but the varsity game was another matter. The first half looked mightily familiar, we started slowly and trailed by eight at halftime. In the third quarter we outscored PM by fourteen to take a six-point lead into the fourth, the lead grew to as much as ten but Manor clawed back to lead by one in the final thirty seconds. On an inbounds play with nine seconds left Anthony Jimenez found Jaloney Porter in the left corner, his three-ball gave JPM a two-point advantage. After a timeout Penn Manor had to drive the length of the floor, a desperation three clanked off the rim at the buzzer as JPM held on 69-67. The badly-needed win evens the division record at 2-2 and the overall mark to 3-9. Seven players got into the game and everybody scored, Deandre Jones led with 29 and Avery Stauffer hit for 12. Eddie Bencosme and Jaloney Porter scored eight apiece, Amir Thompson-Hanson had five, Adrian Rodriguez scored four and Anthony Jimenez added a three-pointer. The boys are back on the bus on Friday for a game at Hempfield but I am absent for the Royals, the team returns home for a rematch with Lebanon on Monday the 13th. Take care, thanks for reading.

January 1-5

In 1969 Denny Zager and Rick Evans (a singing duo from Lincoln, Nebraska) had a #1 pop hit called "In The Year 2525", we still have another five hundred years to go but as we enter 2025 I couldn't help but quote some lyrics from the song at the end of our last post of the old year. The New Year began quietly on a Wednesday and continued that way into Saturday, in mid-afternoon we boarded the bus at McCaskey for the fifty-mile trip southeast into the shadow of Philadelphia. The destination was Garnet Valley High School in Glen Mills for the first meeting between the teams in my thirty-seven seasons at McCaskey. On this night the organization reached the midpoint of its schedule with a pair of one-sided losses, the JV fell to 3-7 with ten games to go and the varsity dropped to 2-9 with eleven games left. The varsity final was 70-45, we were down one at the half and figuratively never came out of the locker room, we scored twenty-four points in the second half and were outscored by twenty-four. Avery Stauffer had a good night with seventeen points but he was the only man in double figures. By all accounts GV is a strong contender within their league so maybe the result wasn't a huge surprise, the real issue was our effort which was discussed at length in the room after the game. Seven of the last eleven are within our division, the next game is at home on the 8th against Penn Manor. On Sunday I was with Jenny and her mother for lunch, we celebrated The Sixty-Eighth Anniversary Of Something That Happened In 1957 (which was actually on Saturday) at a local Italian-style eatery. Take care, thanks for reading.