On the road early on Saturday morning, we were at the Arena by 11:30. The first order of business was at 1:00 for the twentieth annual Battle Of The Badges, first-responders from the city of Reading proper met their counterparts from the rest of Berks County. In 2025 the Reading group won on a goal with forty-five seconds left, on this day a feeling of "deja vu" was in the air as Reading won 2-1 on a score with (can you believe it) forty-five seconds left. The game ended around 2:30 or so, since Jenny and her mother were along for the doubleheader we took the opportunity to slip away and get something substantial to eat at a local restaurant. By 5:00 we were back for the main event at 7:00, game #3 with the Norfolk Admirals. The Royals had won the first two games of this series by identical 3-0 scores, on this night they made it three straight with yet another shutout victory by the score of (you guessed it) 3-0. Newcomer Owen McLaughlin (recent college signee on loan from the Phantoms) scored his first professional goal in the first period, late in the third Connor McMenamin lit the lamp on a power play and Jeremey Michel found the empty net as Yaniv Perets recorded his second shutout of the week. On Sunday afternoon at 3:00 the series ended and so did the shutout streak, on this day the Ads drew first blood halting the zero run at better than one hundred and eighty-six minutes. The momentum did not last, just thirty-nine seconds later Carson Golder evened the game at 1-1. In the second period Golder struck again to make 2-1, Yvan Mongo's score midway through the third period was the final marker in a 3-1 win, Keith Petruzzelli was goaltender of record as the Royals finish the weekend at 34-21-9, 22-8-3 at the Arena. The boys play their next three on the road, they return on April 10 for a "threekend" with the Wheeling Nailers. Take care, thanks for reading.
