WALL -- With less than a minute remaining in Howell's NJSIAA Public A first-round game against Park Regional, it finally hit the Rebels.
Trailing 2-1 with time ticking away, Howell (17-8-1, seeded eighth) put every effort it could into tying the game and avoiding a monumental upset.
It still was not enough.
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Park Regional (15-6-3, seeded 25th) scored two goals in the first period and added an empty net tally as time expired, stunning Howell, 3-1, on Sunday night at Gold Coast Arena in Wall.
"We had a great practice yesterday," Howell head coach Bill Daley said. "I guess the boys thought they would walk right past this team."
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After a slow start, Howell picked it up in the second period, out-shooting Reigonal 18-3. Junior Mike Kochenash scored the lone Howell goal in the period, stealing the puck and scoring with 6:36 remaining.
Howell junior netminder Zack Peras made 13 saves.
"I thought we were flat the whole game," Daley said. "We didn't play our game at all."
The Rebels were scoreless on both of their power plays, first in the second period then again into the third period while they killed off their only penalty when sophomore Austin Crane took a tripping penalty with 11:57 remaining in the game.
Eddie Pyskaty, Mike Liero and Kochenash could not find the finishing touch they needed to score. Senior Greg Buckley had another strong game as his short stint with Howell comes to an end.
"Definitely, a successful season," Daley said. "Our goal at the beginning of the season was to make Shore Conference Tournament and make the state playoffs, and we did both of those things."
Howell has an all-time record of 52-17-6 in three seasons.
