December 29-31

Wednesday afternoon in Reading at the Arena, the Royals hosted the Norfolk Admirals for the annual New Years Eve game. Faceoff was at 4:00, on this day the Royals ran the home-ice winning streak to seven with a tight 2-1 victory. Nolan Burke and Alec Butcher scored in the second period, after the Ads got on the board in the third Yaniv Perets and company shut the door down the stretch to claim the win. The club ends the 2025 portion of the schedule at 16-11-2 (10-5 at home), the boys are back home for a three-game set with the Maine Mariners on January 9th. I had Jenny and Helen home by 8:00, I was home myself by 8:30 and very glad to be there. In my younger years New Years Eve was a big deal but not anymore, at this point in my life I'd rather stay in and be warm (especially when it's been as cold and windy as it has been lately). We'll see you on the flip side in 2026, everybody. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 26-28

Friday dawned with a coating of snow and icy conditions, word came down early that the evening's games at McCaskey were postponed. This was supposed to be the first round of our holiday tournament with the  consolation and championship on Saturday afternoon, with the postponement the tournament became a Saturday-Sunday affair. In the opening round on Saturday Upper Darby beat York, in the nightcap JPM lost to Harrisburg 80-67. We trailed by ten at the quarter but fought back to lead by one at the half, in the third Harrisburg outscored us by thirteen and essentially put the game away. DeMere Salisbery led with twenty-five, Jaloney Porter had eighteen and Amir Thompson-Hanson hit doubles with eleven. Chris Leon added eight, Kyle Brown had three points and EJ Abernathy rounded out the book with two. On Sunday (a very rare day for high school athletic events) in the championship game Harrisburg defeatted Upper Darby, in the consolation game the Red Tornado fell to York 85-76. This game was like watching the Harrisburg game all over again, it was tight until the third quarter when York took command. Eight players got into the game for JPM and everybody scored, DeMere (named as McCaskey's tournament All-Star) had a huge game with 35, Jaloney joined him in double figures with 14. Kyle Brown had eight, Amir added seven, Chris Leon and Laron Gray had four each, EJ Abernathy and Carsyn Haines each had two. The club reaches the season's midpoint (already?) with a mark of 5-6, the next game is in the new year on January 5th. Take care, thanks for reading

December 22-25

Monday afternoon at McCaskey for an uncomfortable forty-mile bus ride northwest into the suburbs of the state capital. The destination was Central Dauphin East HS, a place we have visited before but not since 2021. CDE is a member of the Mid-Penn Conference where the officiating crews are known for getting more involved than they need to be, on this night it luckily wasn't much of a factor. The JV squad lost by six, the varsity lost by ten 65-55. Only five players scored for JPM but two hit double figures, Jaloney Porter was high man with twenty-one and DeMere Salisbery had fifteen. Amir Thompson-Hanson just missed with nine, EJ Abernathy added eight and Kyle Brown had a field goal. The loss drops the mark to 5-4 overall, the club returns home for the annual holiday tournament on Friday the 26th. This is a time of year that is well-documented as one of my least favorite, I lost any feeling for it decades ago and it's never fully come back. I spent a portion of Thursday with Jenny and her mother at their place, Helen made an excellent supper of ham, scalloped potatoes and lima beans and much like Thanksgiving I did not go home hungry. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 18-21

Thursday afternoon at JPM for the bus ride into the northern suburbs and Manheim Township. Every time we play in that gym Strange Things Happen, either we play poorly or we get a 100% hose job or it's a combination of the two. The JV squad lost by nineteen, in the varsity game it was mostly Option A as mentioned above. We were never quite in sync all night long and Township did just about anything they wanted, when the game mercifully ended we were on the wrong end of a 52-42 loss that didn't feel anywhere as close as the final score might indicate..DeMere Salisbery had a strong game with twenty points but there was little support underneath. Amir Thompson-Hanson and Buddy Patterson had six apiece, EJ Abernathy had five, Laron Gray had three and Kyle Brown scored two points. The club is 2-1 within the division with the next divisional game in the new year on January 7 at Penn Manor. Friday night was a hockey night at the Arena, the Royals hosted Adirondack in the rematch from Wednesday. The club came out on fire in the first period, goals from Connor McMenamin, Carson Golder and Massimo Rizzo made it 3-0 at the intermission. The visiting Thunder rallied back to within one in the third but scores by Golder and Jacob Frasca wrapped around a single ADK tally gave the Royals a sweep of the set 5-3. Yaniv Perets was the winner in goal as the Royals improve to 15-10-2, 9-5 at home including a six-game winning streak. The next home game is on New Years Eve with the Norfolk Admirals. On Saturday afternoon the busy week finally ended with another basketball game, Eastern York visited from Wrightsville (just across the mighty Susquehanna River) for a non-league tilt. The JPM JV righted the ship with a six-point win, the varsity took care of business 62-50. On this day three players hit double figures, DeMere led with seventeen, Amir and Jaloney Porter each had twelve. Carsyn Haines and Kyle Brown had eight points, Chris Leon scored three and EJ Abernathy had a field goal. The boys stand at 5-3 overall, they're back in action on Monday the 22nd. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 15-17

Tuesday night hoops at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Cedar Crest in a divisional matchup. CC is the current defending league champion and they lost a lot from that team to graduation but the pedigree is still there. The JPM JV dropped to 3-3 with a thirteen-point loss. the varsity game was the battle everybody expected. We trailed by ten at the quarter but rallied to lead by two at the half, entering the last quarter the lead was six and the boys were able to hold on 68-63. Nine players got into the game for JPM and eight of them scored, on this night Jaloney Porter was high man with twenty-two points. DeMere Salisbery hit doubles with fourteen, Amir Thompson-Hanson had thirteen, Kyle Brown had six. EJ Abernathy and Laron Gray had four each, Chris Leon scored three and Buddy Patterson added a field goal. The record stands at 4-2 overall and 2-0 in division, we travel to Manheim Township on Thursday (always a fun assignment). On Wednesday evening the Royals were back on home ice for the opener of a two-game series with the Adirondack Thunder. The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the game's first two minutes before Ben Meehan tied it seven minutes later. The remainder of regulation time was scoreless, in overtime it was That Man again as Hunter Johannes netted the OTGWG with forty-nine seconds left. The win is the fifth consecutive on home ice and improves the mark to 8-5 at home, 14-10-2 overall, Game #2 with the Thunder is on Friday night, the last home game before the holiday break. Take care, thanks for reading. 

December 13-14

There are occasions in the world of sports where the most unusual things can happen, Saturday was definitely a prime example. The Royals returned home for a two-game set with the Norfolk Admirals, earlier in the day the Phantoms made an AHL-level trade for a player named Hunter Johannes. He grabbed a plane, flew into Philadelphia where he was met by a member of the Royals booster club and driven to the Arena in time to be in uniform. On this night he was a most welcome addition as he scored three goals in leading the Royals to a 7-3 win. The score was actually tied 3-3 midway through the second period before the Royals pulled away, the club supported Johannes' effort with single scores from Carson Golder, Carter Berger (pronounced "BER-zher"), Alec Butcher and Nolan Burke with Keith Petruzzelli earning the victory in goal. Johannes' hattrick was the fifty-first in franchise history and the first ever by a Royal in his debut with the club. In the rematch on Sunday afternoon the proceedings were somewhat calmer, goals by Brandon Saigeon and Alec Butcher gave the Royals a 2-0 lead entering the third period. Norfolk got on the board early in the period but in the closing moments Saigeon found the empty net to wrap up the 3-1 victory for Yaniv Perets. The weekend sweep improves the club's mark to 13-10-2, 7-5 at home. The Adirondack Thunder visits on Wednesday the 17th and Friday the 19th, Take care, thanks for reading.

December 12

Friday the 12th at McCaskey, the Red Tornado hosted Lebanon in the league opener. It was a Red-Letter occasion, on this night the playing floor in the gym was dedicated to the memory of the late Steve Powell. "Bird" (as he was best-known) was the program's head man from 1993 until his passing in 2018, along the way his teams went 468-235 (.656 winning percentage), won eleven division titles, nine league championships, two district titles (2000 and 2002) and recorded thirteen twenty-win seasons. The actual ceremony took place before the varsity game, former players and coaches were invited onto the floor for a group photo. Although I am neither I got in on it because I knew and worked with the man for thirty years, it's not something I might usually do (truth be known, I dislike being photographed) but I figured I had as much a right as anyone else. The gym has had a title sponsor for some time and that won't change, the entire facility is now officially Steve Powell Court at Shultz Transportation Gymnasium. In the games themselves the JV squad won by thirteen, the varsity was victorious 78-61. DeMere Salisbery had another monster night with 29 points, Amir Thompson-Hanson reached doubles withe 20. There was good support underneath, Jaloney Porter and EJ Abernathy had nine each, Kyle Brown scored five, Carsyn Haines added four and Marrcus Laureano had a field goal. The record improves to 3-2 overall and the road doesn't get any easier, Cedar Crest visits on Tuesday the 16th. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 8-11

Back on the bus with the boys on Tuesday evening, the destination was a familiar one in a familiar city. Reading High is historically one of the top programs in the entire state, we've been going there every other year for as far back as I can remember. There are certain places where they don't just try to win the game, the object is more so to humiliate the opponent if they can do it, over the years you could count the number of wins for us in that building on one hand. On this night the JV lost by twenty, the varsity played an inspired competitive game and lost by two points 68-66. DeMere Salisbery had a monster night with 33 points, Chris Leon scored twelve off the bench as the only other player to hit double figures. Buddy Patterson had seven, Amir Thompson-Hanson added six with Carsyn Haines, Kyle Brown, EJ Abernathy and Laron Gray chipping in with two points apiece. A loss is a loss but the fact that the club fought to the end in a place where they look to stone you if possible is an excellent sign. The team opens divisional play on Friday the 12th at home versus Lebanon. On Wednesday I was back in Reading in my own vehicle at a somewhat friendlier outpost, the Royals hosted Wheeling for the fifth time since November 16. It was a chemo week for me, I had to drag the blue pouch along which made for some interesting reactions. The Royals were 2-3 versus Wheeling in the current run of games (that includes a win in Wheeling on November 21), on this night they pulled even with a big 3-2 win. After the Nailers took a first-period lead the Home Boys replied on scores from Kyle Haskins and Connor McMenamin to lead 2-1 into the third. Nick Capone scored in the third to make it 3-1, Wheeling closed to within a goal in the closing moments but came no further (interesting story about Capone: he spent the entire '24-25 season with the Royals and never scored, here in the new season he's finally finding the range with three including the GWG on this occasion). Keith Petruzzelli picked up the win as the club improves to 11-9-2, 5-5 at home. The Norfolk Admirals visit on Saturday and Sunday. Take care, thank for reading. 

December 5-7

Got word on Friday morning that the evening's basketball game was called off, the opponent was coming from the Philadelphia area and they canceled out. No reason was given (although I could imagine several) but the games will officially count as forfeit wins for McCaskey. I wouldn't have been present anyway because Friday night was hockey night at the Arena, the Worcester Railers were the opposition for the opener of a back-to-back. The Royals entered on a five-game losing streak in which they have been outscored 19-3, on this night the downbeat continued with a 2-1 loss. Carson Golder broke up the shutout in the third period, Keith Petruzzelli took the loss. Game #2 on Saturday night was the annual Affiliation Night with the club wearing Flyers-inspired sweaters, it was also the much-anticipated Teddy Bear Toss game. Massimo Rizzo took care of that early by scoring four minutes into the game, additional scores by Jeremy Michel and Nolan Burke wrapped around a Worcester score gave the Royals a 3-1 lead at intermission. Nick Capone (no relation to the famous 1920s-era gangster) made it 4-1 in the second, Kyle Haskins extended the lead to 5-1 in the third and as it turned out the insurance markers proved to be sorely needed. Worcester played most of the final six minutes with the extra attacker and scored three times to close within one. Down the stretch Yaniv Perets and company held the fort for a hard-fought and much-needed 5-4 victory. The mark stands at 10-9-2 overall and 4-5 at home, the boys stay home for another look at Wheeling on Wednesday the 10th. Take care, thanks for reading.

December 1-4

The last month of 2025 began somewhat appropriately on a Monday, the following evening was a basketball night at McCaskey. Dallastown (from York County) was the opponent for a non-league game, they were visiting for the first time since the 2022-23 season. Each of the last two years we played in their gym and both games were a calamity both on the injury front and our own performance, in that regard it was a relief to be the Home Team for a change. The JV club started the evening right with a seven-point win, the varsity followed suit with a 72-63 decision. Dustin used seven players and of them scored, six in double figures: DeMere Salisbery led with 25, Kyle Brown continued his emergence with 15 and Amir Thompson-Hanson had 14. EJ Abernathy, Buddy Patterson and Marrcus Laureano rounded out the book with six points each. Perhaps the best part of the evening was the atmosphere itself, the gym was close to full and the crowd was raucous, in many ways it took me back to days of yore. The boys are at home for another non-leaguer on Friday (I'm out for the Royals), on the 9th we're back on the bus. Wednesday night was a hockey night at the Arena, the Wheeling Nailers were in town for the fourth straight home date. Since winning in Wheeling on November 21 the Royals have lost four in a row including an unsightly 0-3 road trip, on this night the streak reached five with a spiritless 4-0 defeat. It's the third time in the last seven games the club has been shut out, Yaniv Perets took the loss and deserved a better fate. The record stands at 9-8-2 overall and 3-4 at home  the Worcester Railers are in for a back-to-back on the 5th and 6th. Take care, thanks for reading.