This past Saturday was the conclusion of the season for the Royals. After a long, hard-fought season the seniors of the team were rewarded with the celebration of Senior Night. The game took place at 2:15 pm on February 12th at Bucks County Ice after it was postponed due to inclimate weather conditions. The ceremony took about 10 total minutes and it honored each player, while the head coach gave a very brief recognition speech. Family and friends were able to capture great pictures which will grant memories forever as the crowd gave very welcoming applause for each and every player.

The game started off well for the Royals but took an unfortunate turn for the worst. The final score ended in a 14-4 win for Wissahickon. However, the conclusion of the game looked quite different from the score in the first period. Wissahickon got out to an early 1-0 start scoring just 4 minutes and 20 seconds into the first period. However, the Royals responded quickly with 2 straight goals. The first one came 6 minutes and 14 seconds in, followed by the goal ahead goal, by Andrew Matz, 5 minutes later making the score 2-1. At this point, things looked bright for the Royals, but a collapse on defense allowed for an offensive Wissahickon surge. Wissahickon went on a scoring run of 9 straight goals lasting for 18 minutes before the Royals finally scored again. Center, Aiden Dittmar, or “Magic Man”, as Coach Jim calls him, scores to break the drought with 2:08 left in the second period. The third period was a silent period for the most part, besides a few meaningless goals by both sides until the final buzzer of the game alerted the stadium that the game had concluded. After the game, captain Matt Castan says “ We could’ve moved the puck better, and have more communication on the ice when dealing with the offensive pressure from Wissahickon.” This shows the pressure of Wissahickon’s offense was a little too much for the Royal’s defense to handle.

However, the Royals may have had a tough season this year, it does not mean all is wrong. Coach Jim remarks about the future” I’m sad to see these players leave since they have been together since they were young but, I am excited to see the players in the younger divisions who I feel confident about for the future.” Every team has bad years, but all that matters is how you respond the next year. Coach Jim has all the confidence in all the world for the future players, so there is light at the end of the tunnel for the next season.