2013 KELLY CUP FINALS

Reading Royals

Stockton Thunder

I’m a couple days late with this blog, I know. I’ve been busy getting back into my daily routine of running, cooking from scratch and going to bed early at night. I know, exciting life I lead. But it is exceptionally nice to get back to making most of my food from scratch, including my bread, going out for my 5 am runs and getting the rest I need.

During hockey season, this doesn’t always happen. Sleep is sometimes hard to come by, runs get skipped and the food isn’t always the best. So, I’m enjoying my coconut milk and berry smoothies and my whole wheat bread while I can.

“It’s a long ways to the top if you wanna rock n roll…”

AC/DC blasted this out about the music business, but it’s very fitting for professional hockey. It’s a long, long ways to the top of the Kelly Cup Finals and two teams have made it to the pinnacle. These two teams could not have chosen more different paths.

The Reading Royals was ahead in the Eastern Conference the entire season. They started out strong and stayed that way. The Royals have some big players. They make big plays and big hits. They overtake their opponents and don’t let go.

The Stockton Thunder, on the other hand, was a fairly weak team in the beginning of the season. It wasn’t until the last two months of the regular season when the Thunder grew stronger overtaking teams, winning games when they were losing, earning the nick The Comeback Kids. They aren’t a big team, they’re scrappy and patient. They’re willing to fight it out until they win.  

The Finals start Friday in Reading, PA. It is too difficult to say who has the advantage. If Reading scores first, they could muscle Stockton and surge through, over-powering them for the rest of the game. But the Thunder can never, ever be counted out. Just ask Idaho or Alaska. This tenacity is their secret weapon and it serves them well.

The Thunder have never won the Kelly Cup and they’re hungry. The games against the Idaho Steelheads were very close with two going into overtime. The games against Reading will be even more difficult.

This series could go either way. One thing is for sure, it will be exciting, hockey at its finest!

ECHL Hockey rules!!!