Sports
Howell Downs Freehold Township For Season Sweep
Eddie Pyskaty nets another hat trick as Rebels roll to victory.
WALL -- Nothing can slow down Eddie Pyskaty.
Not even leaving his jersey at home on senior night.
The Rebels' senior captain, wearing number 20 for the first time in his career, scored a natural hat trick in the second period as Howell (14-5-1, no. 25) easily composed of Freehold Township at Gold Coast Arena in Wall, Tuesday night, 6-0.
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Despite being held scoreless throughout the first period, Pyskaty lead a charge of Howell goals in the second, as the Rebels took a commanding 4-0 lead into the intermission.
Howell held the Patriots (4-12-3, no. 110) to just seven total shots on the night -- one each in the first and third periods -- to cruise to their second lopsided win over Township this season.
Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"It's real important," third-year head coach Bill Daley said, "Our concept this year is team defense. If we keep them under 20 [shots] we have a good chance of winning so to keep them under 10 [shots], we definitely did it."
After being held scoreless through the first period, senior Mike Liero gave Howell the 1-0 lead 58 seconds into the second, beating the Patriots goalie Zach Roy top-shelf.
Pyskaty would then tally three straight goals for the Rebels, who haven't lost since their Jan. 25 meeting with Brick.
James Bodeker made the start for Howell and stopped all seven Freehold Township shots for his second shutout of the season. The Rebels, as a team, have five total shutouts this season.
Zach Guerrera also scored for Howell, making a nice move around Roy to finish off the scoring for the night with 45 seconds remaining in the game.
Mike Kochenash had a goal and two assists, along with Trevor Heuser, who notched an assist for the Rebels.
The Rebels have three regular season games left before entering the Handchen Cup, a tournament between the top four Shore A and B teams and the Public A state playoffs in Match.
On Friday, Feb. 11, Howell will hit the road to take on Hackensack at Hackensack Ice House at 7:30 p.m.
"Hackensack is a big game, so we're going to focus on that," Daley said.
