Three visiting teams from Long Island and the hosts from Middle Village faced off in a tournament in Queens
The Middle Village Players Roller Hockey League Hosted a 13-year-old and under tournament with three visiting teams from Long Island over the weekend.
Coaches Salvatore DiGiovanna and Steve Rybacki coached the Middle Village Team to a perfect 5-0 record and a tournament win.
Players Paulie and Jack Pogozelski, Luca DiGiovanna, Nick Rybacki, Jax Anderson, Ian Lituma, and standout Goalie Juan Jose Munoz represented the Middle Village Roller League.
Paulie and Jack scored 9 of the teams 12 goals and Juan Jose Munoz only allowed 5 goals in the entire tournament.
Nick Rybacki and Jax Anderson netted the other three goals, with Ian Lituma and Luca DiGiovanna keeping the team’s defense strong and impenetrable. The great effort by each player helped represent the local area with pride.
South Shore Hockey League Black Biscuit Coaches Bobby Shannon and John fielded two of the teams. West Nassau fielded the final team, coached by dads Ronnie, Adam, and Jeff.
The tournament started with a 4-team round robin, where every team played each other once. Then all teams competed in a single elimination championship round.
Each game featured 12 minutes of high-paced hockey in the blazing sun.
It was a great day for roller hockey in New York!
The Middle Village Team went to overtime to defeat the Grey South Shore Team in the first Playoff Game 2-1.
The Green South Shore Team upset the high scoring West Nassau Team 4-2, going on to push Middle Village to the limit in the championship finale. Middle Village was able to win a tight 1-0 final.
After the championship game, the teams chipped in for pizza from Gino’s Pizza Express, nearby in Middle Village.
