Rebels Earn Fourth Seed in Tournament

Since their 2-1 loss to the Eagles on Dec. 21, the Rebels have been looking for revenge.

On a night where Howell was no longer undefeated and lost a game that many said they needed to win to earn respect, the boys in blue came up just short, despite out-shooting Middletown South by more than a two-to-one ratio.

Now, almost two months later, Howell will finally get another shot at beating the Eagles, this time with the game on a bigger stage than ever -- the Handchen Cup.

Finishing the season with a 16-6-1 record, Howell has earned the fourth seed in a field of eight for the Handchen Cup, a tournament between the top eight teams in Shore A and Shore B.

"We're going to go right at Middletown South," Howell head coach Bill Daley said, "[The seedings] came out just like I expected them to. No surprises."

The Eagles, who faced difficult intra-team contraversy, struggled throughout the second-half of the season despite being considered as one of the top public teams state-wide early on.

They finished 2011 with a 10-6-3 record.

Last year, Howell stunned Middletown South in the third round of the state playoffs when then-junior Eddie Pyskaty beat goalie Chris Marsillo in overtime on a breakaway, sending the Rebels to the quarter-finals.

The game is at 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 19 at Gold Coast Arena in Wall.