Royals diary

By Reagan Rome

   All good things must come to an end. That was the case for us and our nine-game winning streak after we lost to Trenton at home on Friday. Well I guess it’s time for us to start a new win streak.
   It was kind of an uneventful week for us. With just two games we were left with a lot of down time. During this time there was a lot of napping going on. A lot of the guys were very tired after our very successful week-long road trip.
   "It is great to be home; there is no place like home, as Dorothy would say" said Jeff Miles with a creepy looking grin on his face.
   I think most of the guys would agree with Milesy’s statement. I know that I do.
   Over the course of the week we lost a few players and gained a few. We lost one of the best goalies in the league in Cody Rudkowsky (who signed an American Hockey League contract with Providence). It is sad to see him go, but we are all here for one reason and that reason is to move on to the next level. He has done that and we are all happy for him and we wish him all the best.
   I personally will miss taking his money in poker and I guess the guys will have to look elsewhere for their easy wins on the pingpong circuit.
   We also lost another key guy for at least the week. That was Graig Mischler (who was called up to Hershey). This week the guys had to find someone else to chirp and beak at now that Mish wasn’t around.
   Miles, the oldest rookie in the league, took the most of it. I kind of felt bad for the guy.
   I asked Brusty (goalie Barry Brust), "Why Milesy?" He said: "He is such an easy target. Sometimes I just want to throw a dart at him, and I guess other guys see it too."
   I asked Milesy, "Do you think you can take it until Mish gets back? "
   He told me: "I will do anything to help this team win. If I have to be the goat of all the guys’ jokes then so be it."
   He then mumbled under his breath as he walked away: "Please God send Mish back. I don’t think I can take it much longer."
   We also lost Martin the "Wild Man" Wilde (who was called up to Hershey). His presence on the ice and the locker room will be missed.
   When we aren’t playing pingpong lots of us are playing poker. This week’s game featured six players. Ian Turner, Nick Greenough, Tommy Galvin, Matt Yeats, Miles and me. The outcome was great. I ended up at the final table with Miles. We went head to head for a while until he realized his fate. His fate, in fact, was to get dominated by me.
   Poker is huge in the world right now and with all our spare time and with so many guys that like to play it makes for some great games.
   In closing I would like to say that it is great to be home and we are looking forward to starting up a new win streak.
   I hope you all enjoyed reading about our exciting week. Make sure you check back next week for more exciting news.
   Reagan Rome is a Reading Royals defenseman. He will be writing a weekly diary throughout the season.