In the Cheel Arena, Postdam NY, the Long Island Rebels Midget 16 team opened the 2012 NY State Championship facing off against the Monroe County Eagles.  The game opened with both teams sizing each other up for almost the entire first period.  Rebels net minder Trevor VonKampen was tested early, turning away everything that was thrown at him.  The Rebels started heating things up as the period drew to a close. With 16:39 gone the Rebels broke the ice as Marc Aureliano finished off a nifty pass play from Joe Posillico and Nicolas Nici.  That would end the first with each goalie facing 9 shots.  At the start of the second the Rebels began to turn it up a notch and at 5:44 in the Rebels would tally again this time by Tyler Rifice from Chris Callandra and Matt O'Shaughnessy.  The scoring in the second would end there as the Rebel defense fought off a 5 on 3 in the waining minutes of the second.  Heading into the locker room for the between period ice cut the Rebels had managed to hold on to the 2-0 score.  Returning to start the third Long Island must have been pumped up by the stellar defensive killing off the 2 man advantage. It was time for the offense to take charge.  Rifice netted his second of the game on assists from Joe McGuire and O'Shaughnessy and just 29 seconds later Aureliano would get his second with another assist going to McGuire.  At the horn, the Rebels found themselves on the top side of a 4-0 shutout.

The afternoon game would not fair as well for the Rebel squad.  The Rebels drew the Dynamos from Clifton Park in the nightcap game.  Earlier in the season the Rebels faced CP and came up on the short end of a 5-1 score.  The Dynamos got on the board early, blasting a shot off a nice pass with just 2:31 expired.  The game was fast paced and after the early tally, Rebels goalie Patrick Cavanaugh settled in and turned away shot after shot.  It was not until the third period with 4:23 left would CP register the second and final goal of the game. Cavanaugh would face 29 shots overall and the loss put the Rebels in a wait and see mode as their hopes to make the crossover were resting with their fellow Eastern Zone team the Westchester Vipers.  A win by the Vipers, who earlier had taken down the Dynamo, would all but eliminate the Rebels.  As the first day closed, Monroe County did what the Rebels had hoped and downed the Vipers 7-2.  The Long Island squad now controls their own destiny, tied with Monroe, the Vipers, and the Dynamo, the Rebels will try to seal the deal as they take on the Westchester team on Saturday.  A win over the Vipers will guarantee at least a second place finish in their round robin division and a trip to the semi-finals.  GO REBELS!! 

The Long Island Rebels completed the New York State Championship round robin today with a win and a loss in the final day of the round robin.  Coach Kevin Young led the boys to a 3-1 record placing them in the second position of their seeding bracket.  The only loss for the 97 team came at the hands of the talented St Lawrence Thunder.  

The morning game was as expected, the Rebels and the Thunder played a high paced, action packed game in what may prove to be a preview of the state finals.  The pace was fast and the play end to end with the first 16 minutes ticking by and no score on the board.  Reports of an "Awesome" game were heard all the way to Long Island as Rebel fans awaited the nail biting outcome.  16 more minutes burned off the clock finding the Thunder up 1-0 at the cut.  Although the Rebels had out shot St. Lawrence, they could not find the back of the net and wound up dropping the opener to the First place Thunder 5-0.  

Returning to rink later on in the day the Long Island boys found themselves faced with a "win and your in" situation entering the night cap pitted against the Camillus Cougars.  Rebel pride came through in a big way as the squad quickly posted a 3-1 lead heading into the second period.  Up 5-1 at the start of the third, drama was soon to unfold.  Perhaps the Cougars felt a sense of urgency, or perhaps frustration was starting to show but the first 6 minutes found the Rebels net minder on the back end of a few vicious hits.  With ten minutes left in the 5-1 game Camillus crashed the net injuring Galiczewski and taking him out of the game.  With the Cougars on a power play, Kevin Young called on Alex Gallose to close it out.  Alex plays on the Rebels Bantam Minor team and was a last minute state approved entry to the 97 team.  Camillus wasted no time in testing the goalie, quickly ripping two vicious shots both of which were turned away.  The flurry sparked the Bantam team as they finished the round robin like they opened it, burying four more goals in the final minutes putting the Cougars down 9-1. 

The Rebels are now only two wins away from the state championship crown.  Sunday morning will find them facing their LIAHL rival the Long Island Edge.  In league play this season the Edge holds a 2-0 advantage.....but this is the state championship!!!!! 

GO REBELS!!!!!

At 6:00 AM on a snowy Friday morning, in Clinton NY,  The Rebels 97 Bantam team opened the New York State Championship and got off to a bang.  As the first few minutes of the game went by, Kevin Young and the boys showed why they finished first seed in the East.  Up 5-0 with only six minutes gone it looked like the Rebels would cruise to an easy opening victory.  Midway through the second, the Rebels were holding a comfortable 5-1 lead.  The squad from Clinton hung tough, fighting back in the third, and with the help of several bad penalties taken by the Rebels, they were able to close to within one as Clinton netted their fourth goal with 23 seconds left in the game.  The Rebels were able to hold on as Clinton elected to keep their net minder in place and not put out an extra skater. As the last seconds ticked off the clock, The Rebels would find themselves posting the first win in the 2012 tournament.

The Bantams were back at it at in the afternoon, this time facing a strong Tonawanda team who took the ice for the first time in the states.  Once again the Rebels jumped out to a quick lead, going up 4-1 in the first.  Kevin Young must have been experiencing flashbacks of the morning game as Tonawanda was able to close the gap as the second period ended 4-3 Rebels.  The third period was filled with back and forth action but once again, at the final buzzer, the 97 Rebels had posted another W in the win column finishing off Tonawanda 6-4.  

The Rebels face St. Lawrence Saturday morning and finish the round robin against Camillus later on in the day.  Go REBELS!!!!

The 97 Bantams as well as the Rebel organization would like to say a very special thank you to Alex Gallose and his family.  Alex has demonstrated the true meaning of team spirit and dedication by joining the 97 squad just days before the states started.  At the last minute, the state bound Rebels were in danger of attending the tournament with only one goalie, Alex stepped up and is on the bench in the event he is needed!  THANKS!!!!!

The Long Island Rebel Mites Finished the season strong as they advanced all the way to the semi finals of the King of The Hill Championship (played at Dix Hills March 3-4).  Despite hanging tough for the entire game, the young squad was eliminated in the morning game by an older Skyliners team.  The goalies of both teams were posting a shutout as the two Mite powerhouses were knotted up 0-0 with only minutes remaining.  As the final seconds ticked away the Skyliners were able to break the tie and when the buzzer sounded the Rebel mites found themselves on the short side of a 1-0 score.

The Rebels are very proud of our boys and Mite Coaches.  They played hard, had fun and were great sports the entire season!!!  A special thanks goes out to Dawn Sikorski who has been providing not only the mites, but other Rebel teams, power skating instructions during their practices.

Made up almost entirely of first year players, the Long Island Rebel Mite team found itself in the thick of it at the Long Island King of the Hill (KOH) Championships at Dix Hills today.  After coming out strong and winning the first two games, the Mites had a tough go in the third game of the KOH round robin. When all the dust settled (and the tears dried up) Coach Mike Porcello and the boys had fought their way into the semi finals on Sunday! The Mites will try to bring home the crown in their home rink tomorrow.  Win or lose the Mite team will still be Champions in the Rebel Organization's eyes!  

Good luck and most importantly HAVE FUN!!!!!