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.
