The second month of 2025 started with Saturday night hockey in Reading, the Royals began the second half of their home schedule with a two-game set versus the Adirondack Thunder. On this night at the Arena Shane Sellar gave the Good Guys a 1-0 lead five minutes in but the visitors from the North Country scored twice in the second and carried that 2-1 lead into the third period. In the second minute Robbie Stucker (a defenseman not known as a goal-scorer) netted his first of the season to tie the game, midway through Matt Miller (the club's mid-season league All-Star selection) lit the lamp giving the Royals a 3-2 lead. ADK was not to be outdone, they replied less than a minute later to tie the game and force overtime. In the extra session the Thunder took the win and the extra standings point 4-3, Keith Petruzzelli was goaltender of record. The Royals have played OT nine times thus far (including shootouts), on the road they are 2-2 but with this result they fall to 0-5 at home. The clubs rematched on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 and on this day the result was never really in doubt. The Royals trailed 1-0 and 2-1 and caught up both times (Gianfranco Cassaro in the first period, Matt Miller in the second), in the third the Thunder scored four times with the last two into the empty net for a 6-2 win. Gage Alexander got the start in net and deserved a better fate. On the bright side the club had earned at least one point in the standings in each of the last eight games prior but a four-goal loss on home ice is never good. The record stands at 7-8-5 at home and 17-20-7 overall, we're back home on the 4th for the annual Education Day game at 10-30 (that's AM, in the morning). Take care, thanks for reading.
