• Sunday's Reading Royals game includes a pin giveaway featuring mascot Slapshot and a post-game autograph session. [Brad Drey/Purdon Photography]
    Sunday's Reading Royals game includes a pin giveaway featuring mascot Slapshot and a post-game autograph session.
    Brad Drey/Purdon Photography

    Rubber Meets the Road: Battle of the Badges

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    Thursday, February 23, 2012 | Written by Neal Goulet

    Hockey teams have their enforcers, their tough guys, their policemen.

    On Sunday at Sovereign Center in Reading, there will be a whole team of real policemen – playing a whole team of honest-to-goodness firefighters.

    As part of a hockey doubleheader, the Reading Fire Department and Reading Police Department will face off at 12:30 p.m. in Battle of the Badges VII. The ECHL’s Reading Royals play host to Greenville at 4:05 p.m.

    One ticket is good for both games. A portion of each ticket sold will benefit the Battle of the Badges Scholarship Fund, which supports children of Berks County firefighters and police officers.

    For tickets, visit www.royalshockeyevents.com/bob.

    On Sunday, the first 1,000 children ages 12 and younger will receive a pin featuring Royals mascot Slapshot. There’s also a post-game team autograph session.

    The Royals also play host to Greenville at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, when there’s a lunch bag giveaway for the first 1,500 adults courtesy of Diamond Credit Union.

    Here’s how the rest of the Pennsylvania hockey weekend ahead is shaping up:

    Hershey Bears: 7 p.m. Saturday (Norfolk)

    Hershey fans get East Division foe Norfolk at the beginning and candy (courtesy of Hershey Co.) at the end as the Bears play their final home game of “Chocolate-Covered February.” The first 5,000 fans receive a cooler bag from Capital BlueCross.

    Wilkes-Barre/Scranton: 7:05 p.m. tonight (Manchester) and Saturday (Syracuse); 3:05 p.m. Sunday (Norfolk)

    The Baby Pens play outside their division tonight when they welcome the Atlantic Division’s Manchester Monarchs to Mohegan Sun Arena before welcoming two East Division foes. Saturday is military appreciation night, with the first 5,000 fans receiving a bobblehead. First place could be on the line come Sunday’s matinee with Norfolk, with whom the Baby Pens are tied at 69 points entering this weekend.

    Mercyhurst men: 7:05 p.m. Saturday (Canisius)

    The Lakers conclude their regular season with the back end of a home-and-home series that begins at 7:05 p.m. Friday in Buffalo. The Lakers (17-13-4 overall; 14-7-4 in the conference) are tied with Bentley and Niagara with 32 points each, two behind first-place Air Force.

    Robert Morris men: 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday (Air Force)

    First-place Air Force lands at Clearview Arena as the Atlantic Hockey regular season comes to an end. Robert Morris (14-13-5 overall, 12-8-5 Atlantic Hockey) is in seventh place with 29 points – but only five points behind the Falcons in the tightly bunched conference. With his first shift this weekend, Colonials senior forward Trevor Lewis will set a program record with his 137th career appearance.

    Pittsburgh Penguins: 1 p.m. Saturday (Tampa Bay) and Sunday (Columbus)

    Steven Stamkos, the National Hockey League’s first 40-goal scorer this season, leads the Tampa Bay Lightning into Consol Energy Center for Saturday’s matinee. On Sunday, fans get a little green to go with the Blue Jackets: there’s a reusable tote bag giveaway presented by Bayer Material Sciences.

    Penn State Icers: 7 p.m. Friday (Kent State)

    The Icers (26-3-1) play their final home game of their final season as a club team – in a final tune-up before heading to Cleveland for the American Collegiate Hockey Association men’s Division I National Championships on March 3. The Icers have won 12 in a row and 18 straight at the Ice Pavilion.

    Erie Otters: 7 p.m. Friday (Sault Ste. Marie) and Saturday (Kingston)

    With three wins, Erie already has made February its best month of the season. Last place is a foregone conclusion, but the Otters have gone 4-5-0-1 in their past 10 games and are offering their fans signs of hope for a better 2012-13.

    Rubber Meets the Road is a weekly guide to the promotions and matchups for your next hockey road trip.

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