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.