Hart leads Howell to First-Round Upset

COLTS NECK -- After a first quarter that left the Howell Rebels and Colts Neck Cougars dead-locked at three, the Rebels knew it was time to strike.

Senior captain Rob Hart lead the attack, scoring three of his five goals in the second quarter, igniting the lethal Howell squad to score seven goals, and pull away from the seventh-seeded Cougars, as the Rebels went on to win, 14-8 in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament.

Along with Hart's game-high of five goals, sophomore standout Alec Dambach added three to aid Howell's superior offense in the victory.

"I don't know if anything was said, but we felt really good about our match-ups," Howell head coach Derek Reichenbecher said, "I didn't do a very good job coaching as a smart team, but the kids did a really good job getting ground balls and being smart out there."

Hart won the opening face-off of the second quarter, took the ball down into the zone and after spinning behind the net, eventually ripped home his third goal of the game to give the Rebels the 4-3 advantage.

After senior Kevin Scott was stopped cold in front of the net minutes later, a costly turnover by goalie Nick Schwarz lead to the game-tying goal for the Cougars.

Just two minutes later, however, Scott pounded a goal in to give Howell a 5-4 lead — one they would not relinquish.

Senior Ryan Dambach scored off a beautiful dodge along the right alley to give Howell their biggest lead of two. That was followed by back-to-back goals by Hart -- including a diving goal and one where he went coast-to-coast -- and goals by Ryan Leonard and Alec Dambach, as the Rebels took total control with a 10-4 lead.

Colts Neck added a goal late in the quarter as the teams entered halftime with a score of 10-5.

After the Cougars came out in the third quarter on fire with two quick goals, Hart assisted back-to-back goals, first, hitting a cutting Scott for his second goal of the game and then nailing Ben Talcott for a crucial goal as the Rebels put the game essentially out of reach.

"Good teams will always go down swinging," Reichenbecher said, "They [Colts Neck] did a great job of getting momentum but we did a good job of being able to grab it back, and answer their goals."

The Rebels had six different players notch goals on the game, a key asset to their game all season long.

"The kids had a good feel for the ball today," Reichenbecher said, "A lot of guys scored, there was a great defensive effort, and when you have a lot of guys contributing, it makes it easier for that stuff to happen."

Hart opened the scoring early for Howell, netting his first goal on the Rebels first possession of the game.

After Colts Neck tied the game on their first offensive possession, Alec Dambach answered quickly to give Howell the 2-1 advantage.

Ryan Dambach would later nail Hart with a terrific pass as Hart was able to bury his second goal and give Howell the 3-1 lead.

Alec Dambach scored the final goal in the fourth quarter to finalize the score at 14-8.

Nick Schwarz was huge in net all game long for the Rebels, along with long pole defenders Blase Dellavalle, Max Fontaine and James Bodeker -- all who helped shut down a very strong Colts Neck team.

For the second straight year, Howell has pulled an upset in the first round of the Shore Conference tournament. Last season, the Rebels upset fifth-seeded Jackson Memorial in overtime.

"It was nice to come in with confidence from that Jackson game," Reichenbecher said.

The Rebels will play again Friday afternoon in round two, likely against Jackson Memorial.