Loss leaves Clancey in limbo

   TRENTON, N.J. — The Reading Royals were cruising down the highway with the top down and listening to their favorite tunes blaring from the CD player.
   The Royals held a two-goal lead over Trenton with 20 minutes left Friday night in Game 4 of the best-of-five ECHL North Division finals.
   They were 20 minutes from forcing a deciding game tonight. In their building. In front of their fans. They have the best defense in the league and maybe the best goalie.
   But then they ran over a pothole. Then another. And another. Before they knew what hit them, the wheels had come off.
   "It’s a tough pill to swallow," assistant captain Graig Mischler said. "It happened so quick."
   Minutes after their stunning 4-3 loss to the Titans was over, the Royals also may have lost their driver.
   Derek Clancey, who has brought success to a struggling franchise in his two seasons in Reading, added to the shock by saying he’s fielding offers to coach elsewhere next season.
   Clancey’s second one-year contract ended Friday night with the end of the Royals season. After Ray Delia, Reading’s only general manager, resigned in March, Clancey has had just one meeting with a representative with SMG, which owns the team.
   "I’m upset," Clancey said. "I’m a little hurt that I’m hanging. I understand they have to find a GM, but I don’t know what I’ve done to warrant them not to make a commitment to me.
   "Any organization needs stability to keep moving forward. With our GM moving on, to keep the coach would be an important thing. Our record speaks for itself."
   The Royals made their first two playoff appearances in Clancey’s two seasons. They finished fifth in the division last season before advancing to within one win of the Kelly Cup finals.
   This season, they finished first in the North Division, beat Toledo in the first round and lost to a team that had the same number of points as them in the regular season.
   Clancey has been quite a contrast to Al Sims and David Lohrei, the Royals’ first two coaches. A successful coach at previous ECHL stops, Clancey has brought discipline and enthusiasm to Reading.
   "He’s passionate about winning," said  Mischler, the Royals’ leading scorer who was benched by Clancey for one game this season. "That’s all you really ask of anyone. He’s an attention-to-detail guy. His passion rubs off on everyone else."
   Reading is considered one of the top franchises in the 30-team league, on the ice and off, coming off two strong playoff runs and ranking third in attendance.
   "I’m a little disappointed in how it’s been handled," Clancey said. "Obviously I want to coach here if it’s not in a higher league but they can’t expect me to sit around and wait and not pursue other opportunities."
   Clancey never flinched when the Titans rallied for three goals in the third Friday night, only the third time this season that Reading had blown a lead in the final period. He kept encouraging his players and kept battling even to the bitter end.
   "I enjoyed being on this team, probably more than any other I’ve been on," veteran defenseman Adam Borzecki said. "That’s what makes it so disappointing and just so unbelievable. It’s hard to believe it’s over. We deserved better than that."
   So do the Reading fans. They deserve to see a general manager hired and the 36-year-old Clancey rehired. Soon, before the Royals lose him.
   "Our season’s over and, to me, I don’t have a job," Clancey said. "I gotta live and I want to coach. This has been going on since March. I don’t know anything. What do I do? "
   Contact Rich Scarcella at 610-371-5070 or rscarcella@readingeagle.com.