When the Rebels skated off the ice following a 5-4 defeat to the Brick Dragons on Jan. 27, coach Bill Daley was smiling.
"I told the boys they played really well and next time we see [Brick] we'll be skating around with the Shore Conference trophy," he said.
In the midst of a struggling stretch for the Rebels, Daley was pleased with his team's play against of the state's elite, proving they certainly can play with the Dragons.
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Now, almost a month later, the Rebels will get that shot at revenge -- this time in the semifinals of the Handchen Cup playoffs.
In Howell's first season in the Handchen Cup -- they participated in the Dowd Cup their first two seasons as part of Shore C -- the Rebels are 17-6-1 including a 6-4 win over Middletown South on Saturday night.
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In their first match-up, senior Eddie Pyskaty lead the way for Howell, giving the Rebels the lead on two seperate occassions. Unfortunatley, it wasn't enough as Patrick Kearns scored the game-winning goal with 55 seconds remaining.
Howell goalie Zack Peras has been strong as of late and will need to continue to play well if the Rebels want any chance of upsetting the Dragons, who currently own a 17-game win-streak.
The teams will face off on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 4 p.m. at Ocean Ice Palace in Brick.
The winner will move on to the Handchen Cup final.