Team News

SEAN COLLINS COMMITS TO ST. ANSELM  COLLEGE

Sean Collins #24 has committed to attending St. Anselm in the fall of 2008.  

Sean was the backbone and playmaker of the National Champion Junior Royal team with 27 goals and 21 assists in just 41 games.   Sean was voted to the Metropolitan Junior Hockey 2007-08  All Star team.

Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, Catholic, liberal arts college located in Manchester, New Hampshire and has a completive Division III hockey program

Sean came to the Royals from the LI Rebels Junior Team where he was voted to the  AEHL All Star team.

The Royals would like to extend their  congratulations to Sean and the entire Collins family, and wishes him the very best as he heads off to St. Anselms College.        

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Junior Royals Participate

In "Buddy Skate"

Genesis School For Autistic Children

BUDDY SKATE VIDEO

On Sunday December 30th players and families from the Junior Royals Team participated in Buddy Skate 2007 hosted by the Long Island Rebels. The players assisted the Genesis students in one on one peer contact helping them ice skate in a safe environment.   The Buddy Skate program was started to break barriers and develop relationships with groups that otherwise may not have much contact,     The Junior Royals were honored  to participate at this years event.      For additional information reference prior Buddy Skates

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Battle of Long Island

Royals vs Suffolk PAL 

Edward J. Walsh Memorial Game

The Long Island Junior Royals remembered a long time fan and family member Saturday evening at Syosset Iceworks.     Through donations from friends and family they were proud to honor his memory in a game that he loved.

Mrs. Walsh along with daughters Karen and Lori dropped the puck for Royals Assistant Captain (and grandson of Mr. Walsh) Jamie Rifice and Suffolk PAL (and friend) Dan Healy.

Sincerest thanks from his family, and the Long Island Junior Royals Hockey Team to all who came out tonight in his honor.

Two teams with the best winning percentage in the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League  met  this weekend at the Royals home rink Syosset Ice Works.      The Royals entered the weekend with a 23-4-0-0 record and Suffolk PAL was close behind with a 23-4-0-1 record.  After 28 league games the two teams that play in the same division were separated by one point.

In the first game on Saturday evening Suffolk PAL got on the board in the first period with a goal from PJ McCadden.  The Royals came back to tie it with a goal from Devin Laviano at  11:22 of the second period.    Vinnie Scaccia put the Royals up by one with a shot from the point but a short time later PAL tied it up with another goal from PJ McCadden. 

In the third period Steven Sachman stole a pass on a shorthanded press and put the Royals up by one.  PAL pressured in the third but the Royals got one in the empty net ending the game with a 4-2 win.

Family and fans we present once again Sunday morning ready for junior hockey action.   The Royals goy on the board first  when Steven Nardi banged one in with the assists going to Nick Barbera and Nick Rizzo.   The second period was scoreless until Patrick McNally with fourteen seconds left put one past in the back of the net to tie the score.

End to end action pushed the third period into s shootout.  The Royals Nick Rossi put the Royals up again until PAL's  Joseph Malley tied it once again.

With less than two minutes left in the game Royals Devin Laviano snuck one in putting the Royals up for good with the final score being 3-2.

BREAKAWAY HOCKEY MAGAZINE

November 2007

Junior B hockey may be all new to the Long Island Royals, but the club has had little trouble acclimating itself so far.

In fact, the newest member of the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League is not just surviving its introduction to Met League play, but thriving. The Royals spent much of their first month atop the league standings and still lead the Emile Francis Division.

More impressively, the Royals spent part of the month as the No. 1 Junior B team in the country, according to www.juniorhockeyrankings.com.

Not too bad a debut for a first-year outfit, to say the least.

But, the freshman success the Royals are experiencing is not a case of beginner's luck, to hear others tell it.  Suffolk PAL coach Jim Wright has been around the Met League for awhile now and has become adept at judging good teams as opposed to hot starts. He puts the Royals firmly in the good-team category.   "Their start has been incredible," Wright admitted. "And, it's no fluke. They have always had a good program. They have had a lot of success at their level and they have added some new players."

The Royals have added players that may have been wearing PAL sweaters this season. The two organizations call Long Island home and are separated by just eight miles. There is a healthy – and intense – rivalry that already exists between the two organizations and will only be intensified by the Royals' addition to the Met League ranks.

"They are a well-coached team, a disciplined, hard-working team" Wright said, speaking highly of Royal boss Gerry Higgins. "I know a lot of the players because I have had the opportunity to coach them. It's a team that should be respected right off the bat."

That's a lesson that other Met League teams are learning in short order. The Royals already have 12 wins and averaging almost seven goals-for per outing. In 14 games, they have allowed just 23 goals.

The Royals ripped the Junior Titans at the Columbus Day Showcase, walking away with a 5-0 victory. It was the Junior Titans' first regulation loss of the season and the only time this year that the club has been shut out.

Titans coach Dustin DePalma was clearly impressed, although he stressed that his team was a little flat in that particular contest.

"They have good team speed and they shot the puck; they are not shy," DePalma said. "They are not interested in scoring pretty goals. They will shot the puck and make something happen."

Offensively, the club is four lines deep and Higgins is religious about rolling his lines. Still, Nicky Barbera has 10 goals in the first 12 games and Steve Sachman has nine. Devin Laviano has eight goals and two other players – Sean Collins and Vincent Scaccia – have already tallied seven.

"I believe, right now, that I have four equal lines and I pride myself on rolling them," said Higgins. "A player like Nicky Barbera could be a top-three or -four scorer in this league if I gave him more playing time."

But, as good as the Royals have been on the offensive side of the puck, they have made their mark defensively, which has surprised even Higgins.

It seems that when the Royals held tryouts they could only find three established defensemen. So, Higgins started tinkering and moved a number of forwards onto the blue line. Then, he spent much of the preseason stressing the fundamentals of the position to the new defenders, as well as establishing a defensive mindset among every remaining forward.

"I want my defensemen getting involved with the forwards, but I also stress to my forwards that they have to come back into the defensive zone and help out there," Higgins said.

The team has clearly adopted their coach's own-zone mantra, and the converted forwards – Nick Rossi, Kevin Antonik, Jamie Rifice and Mike Demaio – have not missed a beat in their new roles.

It also obviously helps the new defensemen to have a pair of solid goaltenders as the last line of defense. And, the Royals clearly have that luxury.

Joe Reagan has been one of the biggest stories through the first two months of the Met League season. In his first eight games, Reagan had a goals-against average that was below 0.50. Even after absorbing a 6-4 loss to PAL last week, Reagan was still sporting a miniscule 1.25 GAA and a sterling .948 save percentage after facing 174 shots in his nine appearances.

And, it's not like Reagan is some unknown commodity riding a hot month. According to Ramapo Saints' coach Brian Gallagher, Reagan, a '90, played Bamtam hockey in the Saints organization. Rockets coach Bob Thornton said Reagan tried out for his club this summer, but did not have a showing that suggested he would be an elite Met League goalie.

But, Higgins knew what Reagan was capable of and that carried the day in the end.   Higgins coached Reagan in 2005 and the Royals went to the Nationals after upsetting Syracuse in the States. At the time, Syracuse was ranked at least 20 spots ahead of the Royals and the Royals were down to 10 men because of injury by the time the final game in the state tournament rolled around.

Yet, the Royals found a way to win, thanks in large part to Reagan.

"He was like a brick wall," Higgins recalled. "I think he had more than 50 saves before we even went to OT against Syracuse. And, now, he is playing that way for me again."  As good as Reagan has been, the Royals other goalie has been just as good. Zach Gomiela, a '91, has been nearly as good. Gomiela is sporting a 2.33 GAA and .932 save percentage.  "Zach has been really consistent for me," Higgins said. "I try to alternate my goalies as much as I can. I'm very comfortable with either goalie in there."

So far, at least, the Royals, as a whole, have also found their comfort level in the Met League. If the early returns are a good indication, it's the rest of the league, and not the Royals, that may have to make the adjustment to the new kids on the block.

Royals  Take Three  Wins In Four Days

Nov. 18, 2007

Three games in four days against division leading rivals makes a team show what it’s made of.  The Junior Royals did that and more taking all three games and putting them into the win column. 

Thursday evening the Royals visited Suffolk PAL for their second meeting this year.   The first period was a scoreless draw with each team waiting for a break.  In the second period the Royals struck first on a goal from Robert Amrhein  with a second goal thirty seconds later from Vinny Scaccia.   PAL chased back in the third scoring two goals to tie the score.  Two minutes later Scaccia struck again to put the Royals up by one.    With a few minutes left in the game Devin Laviano  put a breakaway in the back of the net to put the game away 4-2. 

Saturday evening the Royals hosted the  North  Conference  - Bill Jennings Division Leaders The Walpole Express .   Coming into the weekend the Express had a season record of  14-4-0-2.    The Royals welcomed the Express to Long Island with a flurry of goals  and a final score of 6-0 in favor of the Royals. 

Sunday morning the Express wanted revenge and scored one goal in the first and one in the second to have a 2-0 lead going into the third period.  The Royals put on a push and three minutes into the third period Nick Rossi put in the first of the Royals goals.    Four minutes later Adam Montgomery scored a power play goal to tie the score.   At the ten minute mark Ben Kramer gave the Royals the lead that lasted to the buzzer.

The Junior Royals now have a league record of  18 wins and 3 losses.   They have the highest  number of goals scored in the MET League  (137) and the lowest number of goals allowed (33).  The Royals goalies are both rated in the top  five based on GAA with Joe Reagan listed at #1 with an amazing  .955 save ratio and a 1.20 GAA. 

Royals Re-assert Themselves in MJHL North
November 19, 2007

The Long Island Royals came out ahead during a scheduling quirk that pitted the MJHL North's top three teams against one another across a week's time.  The  round-robin-type schedule began Suffolk PAL sweep the Walpole Express in two thrilling games, 7-6 and 5-4 on Nov 10-11.

But then, the Royals defeated PAL, 4-2, in a well-played weeknight affair. Vincent Scaccia, who scored twice in the game, netted the critical go-ahead marker six minutes intho the third period, just after PAL had battled back to tie the game at 2-2. Devin Laviano, who earned an assist on Scaccia's game-winner, got an insurance tally in the game's final minute.

The Royals then continued the recent slide of the Express by defeating them 6-0 and 3-2 in a pair of games Nov 17-18. A four-goal second period outburst opened up a previously scoreless game on Saturday. Adam Montgomery had two goals during the period. Steve Sachman totaled three assists in the game. Joe Reagan was brilliant once again, stopping all 28 shots he saw.

A determined Royals team gutted out the Sunday win. Behind 2-0 entering the third period, the Royals got life from Nick Rossi with a goal in the period's third minute. Then, Montgomery popped in a power play goal to tie the game. Ben Kramer completed the scoring a few minutes later with an even-strength goal from Robert Amrhein and Dominick Rullo.

The 3-0 run against the MJHL North's top teams lifted the Royals to 18-3-0-2, good for first place in the Emile Francis Division.

October 8, 2007

Royals Goalies Are Golden

In a three game showcase series this past weekend the Royals goalies allowed only two goals in three games.    Joe Regean shut out the New York Saints and the (6-1) New Jersey Titans  while Zach Gomiela held the Valley Forge Minutemen to two goals. 

In Game One:  Vincent Scaccia got the Royals on the board first at 11:15 of the first.   Five minutes later Stephen Sachman added another to put the Royals up 2-0 at the half cut.

The Royals came out run and gun in  the second half  scoring five more goals.  Sean Collins got the first one minute into the period.  Mike Lukenovich hi the corner from the point two minutes later.  Jamie Rifice then scored two more with Mike Smith adding the last one to finish off the New York Stars 7-0.

The Royals scored four power play goals and killed off ten short handed including a two minute 5-3.

Sean Collins and Vincent Scaccia each  had one goal and two assists.  Jamie Rifice had two goals. 

Royal goalie Zach Gomiela started the second game of the showcase vs. the Valley Forge Minutemen.  Gomiela stopped 26 of the 28 Minutemen shots leading the Royals to a 4-2 win. 

Game Three:  Joe Regean was back in net for the Royals against the southern division leading New Jersey Minutemen.  For his third straight start Joe was perfect in net stopping 22 shots for another notch in his shoutout belt.  The Royals scored four goals in the first period (Scaccia, Sachman, Rifice, Barbera) to jump out infront.   Steve Sachman scored one more in the second to close the door on the Titans in a 5-0 shutout.

The Royals lead the league is least amount of goals against (9)  and second in the league in goals scored  (50)  (although they have played 2 less games than the leading team).

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The Junior Royals hosted a 3-0 Northern Cyclone team this past weekend.  The Cyclones outscored the Royals on Saturday night to a score of 5-2. 

Sunday morning the Junior Royals came out fast out shooting the Cyclones and shutting them down in the offensive zone.  With a superb job in net by Royals goalie  Joe Reagan the Royals took the second game 7-0.  (more  weekend game recap)..........................

The Long Island Junior Royals opened their 2007-2008 season this past weekend with two games vs. the Troy Junior Eagles.   The Junior Royals team has been inactive for the past fifteen years and was reactivated this year by Royals President Rich McGuigan.

The Junior Royals swept the Troy Eagles in two games played at Syosset Iceworks.  more.............

July 21, 2007

The Junior Royals will feature a logo designed by Mr. David Kramer  on their home and away jersey for the 2007-08 season.   

June 25, 2007

L.I. Royals  Re-Establish Team in the  Metropolitan Junior Hockey  League of  USA Hockey

The Long Island Royals are proud to announce the return of the Junior B team in the AMHL , Metropolitan Junior Hockey League.    After a 15 year absence, the Long Island Royals are returning to the Junior hockey arena.   The team will practice and play games out of Syosset Iceworks, home of the NY Islanders.

The Royals Junior team will work in cooperation with the New York Bobcats Junior "A", Long Island Gulls, and the Long Island Rebels.

• Royals will skate out of Syosset Iceworks, alongside the NY Bobcats

• Head Coach - Jerry Higgins