JR. ROYALS UPSET #1 SEED JR. A HELENA 

March 30th.......In Game #1 of the National Championship today in Rochester Minnesota the Long Island Jr Royals played the 2010 Jr A National Champions Helena Bighorns.   Helena who is currently ranked #1 at the Jr A level by Junior Hockey Rankings was also the #1 seed from the America West Junior Hockey League. The Jr Royals had transportation problems getting to the game today with several players not being able to make it so Coach Hoey had just 14 players on the bench. One of those players was  Rebel Alumni Brendan Jones who started in net for the Royals. The game started with Helena on the attack causing Jones to make several acrobatic saves.  Back to back penalty kills wore the Royals down and frustrated the Bighorns only to have the (Rebel alumni) Jake Bichko put one in the back of the net  to go up 1-0.     The  Royals team was giving up bodies blocking shots and taking big hits to keep Helena away from the net.    
A few seconds into the second period Royals Assistant Capt. Brendan Keating  found a hole  to make it a 2-0 game. In the second period the Royals short bench was starting to wear down and Helena's constant pressure final paid off making the score 2-1 where the period ended. The Royals could sense a big upset and came out in the third all fired up.  Bodies were given up to block shots and sacrificed to make a last second pass.   Brendan Jones  was giving a show with save after save being highlight quality.  With a few minutes left in the third Helena again went on a power play with Jones shutting the door on several cross ice plays.   With less than minute left in the game Helena pulled the goalie to go 6 on 5 when JT Hall stripped the defense and buried an empty net for the final score Royals 3 - Helena 1.
The Royals were outshot 48 to 18.   A lot of credit has to go to the Jr Royal players for working so hard but the player of the game once again is Brendan Jones for stopping 47 of 48 shots.      Several NAHL and USHL teams were present and expressed interest in Royal players.
The Royals play game two today (3-31) against the Great Lakes Junior Hockey League #1 Seed Chicago Bulldogs.

To follow the Jr Royals in Rochester Minnesota check their web page at www.liroyalsjrs.com or watch the games live at  www.fasthockey.com   

The Long Island Rebels Bantam Major Team lead by head coach Kevin Young qualified for the New York State Championships today by defeating the Westchester Vipers.   

On Friday night at the Dix Hills Ice Rink the LI Jr. Royals hosted Suffolk Jrs. in MET league action and the winner was the Ronald McDonald House of Long Island.   In a joint effort of the two teams the players, parents, and fans raised a total of $1,568 for this special place.   Thanks to all the parents who volunteered their time to make this a great event and a special thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Pat Martin (Royals & Rebels Alumni)  for donating the winnings of the 50/50 raffle.

There was a great crowd at the Dix Hills Ice Rink to watch the Jr Royals and Suffolk Jrs. battle it out again.   The teams have met twice before with both games being decided in overtime with one win each.

Suffolk opened the scoring going up 2-0 on the Royals in the first period.  In the second period the Royals scored two goals within two minutes of each other by Chris Zaverdas and Vinny Monfredo tieing the score going into the third period at 2-2.   Suffolk struck first midway in the third period going up 3-2.     With five minutes left in the game Vinny Monfredo scored a power play goal making the score 3-3.  Once again it looked like these two teams were going into a overtime game when with under two minutes left in the game while on a penalty kill  Rebel Alumni Jake Bichko popped out of the zone on a breakaway and put it under Suffolk goalie Ned Torrico for the game winning goal.  In the points column Matt Goldberg (Rebels) had two assists, Michael Cartwright (Rebels) had one , Vinny Monfredo had an assist to go with his two goals,  but the player of the game  was Jake Bichko with an assist and the game winning goal. 

  

Game highlite videos with play by play action are posted on www.LIRoyalsJrs.com 

We are happy to announce that in an effort to promote girls hockey on Long Island several organizations have joined together and formed an advisory group to assist with the operations of the Lady Islanders. The organizations involved are The Arrows, Beaver Dam, Nassau County Lions, Suffolk PAL, and The Long Island Rebels.

The members of the group collectively represent over 100 years of hockey experience and are committed to provide the guidance and resources needed to expand and promote the Lady Islanders.

The girls will call the brand new, state of the art Dix Hills facility their home, while maintaining practice ice at the Freeport Recreation Center.

Teams for the 2011-2012 season will be 10U, 12U, 14U and 19U with tryouts starting on 4/11.