The #8 jersey worn last year by Frank DiChara who went on to be the MJHL Leading Scorer and voted the League MVP has returned to show it powers.  

Returning Jr. Royals player JT Hall  switched from his last year #7 to the #8 jersey and scored 5 goals in the season opener vs. the Boston Bulldogs.   Hall also had an assist on the day finishing the game with 6 points.   JT was voted by the team as an Assistant Capt. for this season.  Along with the 5 goals scored by Hall was 2 goals by Nick Drixis one by Zaverdas and one by Goldberg.   Final score was Royals 9 - Boston Bulldogs 3

Game #2 of the opening weekend had the Royals playing the host team Scranton Knights.   Andrew Green opened the scoring  followed by Matt Goldberg with two power play goals and Vinny Monfredo and Michael Cartwright with one each.   Corey Cairo got the win stopping all 20 shots to earn the teams first shutout of the year.

Game #3 of the weekend put the Jr Royals vs the Cranston Reds.  Jake Bichko opened the scoring in the first and got another in the second for a two goal day.  Assistant Capt. Vincent Monfredo also got two goals and three assists.   Cartwright, Hall and Zaverdas got one goal each for a final score of Royals 7 - Cranston 3.   Marchetti got the win stopping 34 of 37 shots.

Hall  finished the three game weekend with a total of 6 goals and 5 assists for a total of 11 points.

Robert O'Gara has been drafted by the Boston Bruins in the fifth round with the 151st pick of the NHL draft. O'Gara who has committed to Yale University made his final choice from between Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. O'Gara is a 6'3" 185lb. strong two-way defenseman with good hands and a good stick.

Long Island Royals Frank Dichiara has been tendered to play for the St. Louis Bandits in the North American Hockey League. Dichiara who lead the MET league in scoring and was the League MVP has signed with the Saint Louis Bandits for the 2011-2012 season. Coach Browns' bandits have won NAHL championship 3 out the last 4 years (07,08 and 09), the hope is that the signing of Dichiara along with some key draft picks can help bring them back this coming season to the championship game. Dichiara has high expectations for his future and when asked about going to the Bandits was quoted as saying, "There is a natural growth in hockey that you have to follow. Each step you take leads to another and the opportunity to play for Coach Brown and one of if not the best organizations in the NAHL is going to help me reach my goal." Dichiara who will graduate this year from High School has a 4.0 GPA and is in the top 10% of his class this Jr Royals players has a bright future and we hope that the path he is on leads to continued success.

The Long Island Junior Royals are pleased to announce that former NHL star Benoit Hogue has agreed to join their coaching staff. Hogue's career spanned from 1987 to 2001. He played in 863 regular season, and 92 playoff games for ten different teams.

His best years came with the Islanders from 1991-1995. Hogue registered 105 goals during his three and a half season stay in Nassau, adding 124 assists along the way.

He managed point totals of 75, 75 and 69 in his three full years with the Isles, helping the organization to the Wales Conference Finals against Montreal in 1992-1993.

During his NHL career, Hogue tallied 222 goals and 321 assists. He won the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999.

For the past several years, "Benny" -- as he prefers to be called --- has been the head coach of the Junior Islanders Peewee Elite team that participates in the Quebec Summer Tournament. According to Royals assistant coach Tony Colombo, "Benny is an excellent coach, role model and all around great guy."

The Junior Royals are proud to have Benoit Hogue as part of their coaching staff and look forward to the upcoming season.