The Islanders have completed their first two games of the season, suffering from a 2-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday and hanging on for a 2-1 win this afternoon against the Minnesota Wild.

While it’s entirely too early to accurately gauge what to expect in the remaining 80 games this season – I’ve seen, and heard a few things that are worth noting at this point.

Saturday’s game was disappointing, not only from the standpoint of it being a let-down for the fans that packed out Nassau Coliseum, but because the team looked flat and often misplayed the puck. The bar was raised really high by the organization (well, the players themselves really) – so it stung seeing the team struggle before a building filled to near capacity in their season opener.

The ice at the Coliseum looks horrible, like the players were skating in soup. At one point at the start of the second period on Saturday, the on ice officials spent about five minutes with squeegees getting the pools of water moved from the ice surface. You can only really blame the County for this one – as they are responsible for any repairs. I hope to have more on this in the coming days.

The Islanders came out relatively flat, often misplaying the puck or not making smart decisions with and without the puck. Andrew MacDonald showed plenty of rust, committed several turnovers – even though he wasn’t officially charged with any in the post game stats. Mark Streit played a decent game for someone who hadn’t seen professional action in over a year. Mike Mottau took three penalties – three too many.

The forwards were often unable to get things going, chipping the puck past Florida’s defense and just being stopped cold. Al Montoya kept them in the game though making 27 saves for the Isles. They need to do more offensively, which I’m sure they will once all cylinders are firing.

I don’t want to hammer the team with negatives, so let’s jump right to the positives.

Travis Hamonic threw down the gloves and jumped to the support of his teammate Al Montoya by fighting Scotty Upshall. When I asked him during the post game interviews if there was any words exchanged, or if it was just something he had to do to support his goaltender – I got one of the greatest answers one could expect from the budding defenseman.

Every time you fight, I say you fight for a couple of reasons. One is to defend a teammate, two is to change the momentum of the game and three is to defend yourself. I think that in that instance, it hit the nail on the head for all three of them. I was trying to defend Al, and you know next thing I know I turn around and he [Upshall] was in my face. That’s the part of the game that I welcome, I think it happens with the style of play that I play and at that point it was 1-0 for the other team and I felt it it was a good opportunity to change the momentum of the game, so that’s why I did what I did.

Every game the young Travis Hamonic plays – I become more and more impressed. He hits, he makes sound passes, he’s very physical and he plays big important minutes for his team. When he’s paired with Andrew MacDonald – the two of them compliment each other very well.

Fast forward to this afternoon’s game against Minnesota – the Islanders came out a very different team in the first twenty minutes. They skated, they passed and they moved the puck past the defense in a way they couldn’t manage against Florida the game before.

Andrew MacDonald played a much better game, and made up for the mistakes he committed in his first game back. At the start of the game I never would’ve pegged him to score the first goal of the 2011/2012 season – but score he did and it was a beauty. Take a look for yourself:

The Islanders second goal was even better. Mark Streit fakes a shot from the point and moves down the boards. Frans Nielsen is moving towards the Wild net and Streit executes a perfect shot pass – Nielsen redirected it perfectly to give the Islanders a two goal lead. This goal, you just HAVE to watch:

The rest of today’s game wasn’t as good – even though the Islanders managed to hang on and win 2-1. They looked fatigued as the game wore on, at one point not getting a shot for almost ten minutes and being held in their own zone for long stretches. Despite the negatives, the fact that the team held on is a testament to how far they’ve come since last season. Perhaps you can credit the veteran infusion, but you certainly have to credit Al Montoya for his stellar performance once again.

At the end of the day, the Islanders won, we heard the new Goal Song, the team moved to .500 on the season and improved their record to 1-1. It’s certainly a start.

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In an off season that saw the Islanders very active in areas all across the spectrum, it’s finally behind us and we are ready to drop the puck.

While the team may not have drawn in big name marquee free agents, they signed Marty Reasoner, extended veterans Jay Pandolfo and Steve Staios tryout contracts and were each ultimately signed to one year contracts. The Islanders also extended John Tavares, Josh Bailey, Kyle Okposo, Michael Grabner this off season. They also traded Trent Hunter to New Jersey for Brian Rolston earlier this summer.

The roster for tonight, should look something like this:

Forwards: Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau, Michael Grabner, Matt Martin, Matt Moulson, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Jay Pandolfo, PA Parenteau, Marty Reasoner, Brian Rolston, and John Tavares

Defensemen: Mark Eaton, Travis Hamonic, Milan Jurcina, Andrew MacDonald, Mike Mottau, Steve Staios and Mark Streit

Goaltenders: Al Montoya and Rick DiPietro

The scratches for tonight: Evgeni Nabokov, Ryan Strome, and Milan Jurcina.

With the Florida Panthers visiting Long Island, there are some interesting stories. The Panthers had a very active off season. Our old friend Sean Bergenheim was signed as a free agent, Ed Jovanovski, Upshall and Campbell were all also acquired or signed.

Their lineup tonight:

Forwards: Fleischmann-Weiss-Versteeg, Booth-Kopecky-Upshall, Bergenheim-Goc-Skille, Matthias-Carter-Bradley

Defensemen: Jovanovski-Gudbranson, Garrison-Campbell, Weaver-Kulikov

Goaltenders: Theodore, Markstrom

Expected Scratches: Dadonov, Ellerby

The Florida Panthers team the Islanders are facing tonight is a far cry from the team they faced last season. They’ve added speed, toughness and some scoring punch – so it should be a good matchup. Last season, the Islanders faced the Panthers four times and tied the season series with 2 wins and 2 losses.

The Islanders have added experience in veterans Marty Reasoner, Steve Staios and Jay Pandolfo – whom without a doubt, will be feeling much younger playing with the Isles young squad.

It’s going to be a great game, I know I’m glad hockey is back in action!

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If you’ve watched any TV the last few weeks, you may have seen some of Capital One’s new commercials featuring their 5x Checking Accounts. The commercials are pretty funny and feature Jerry Stiller as a movie theatre usher and actor.

Well, there is a hockey tie in here – trust me!

This coming Saturday at the Islanders Home Opener, Capital one is holding a High Five Contest for fans outside the Box Office, in an area called Visigoth Ice Village (Visigoth’s are those characters from the Capital One commercials, the Vikings). I’ve been asked to take part in a panel of Judges that will also include former New York Islander Benoit Hogue!

Capital One is promoting its new High Yield Checking account by highlighting the excitement of competitive sports with a pre-game “High Five” sweepstakes at this weekend’s New York Islanders game, in addition to an online sweepstakes recognizing metro-area New York teams. Both sweepstakes give fans the chance to enter and win “five times the tickets” (five tickets) in recognition of Capital One Bank’s new High Yield Checking account, which earns at least five times the national average interest on checking.

New York Islanders fans who come to the Nassau Coliseum on October 8 before the game can give their creative “High Fives” in front of a panel of judges and enter for their chance to win five times the tickets to an upcoming Islanders game. The High Five event begins at 6 p.m. at the Capital One Bank Visigoth Ice Village, just outside the box office entrance of the Nassau Coliseum.

Additionally, metro-area sports fans can enter the “High Five for 5X the Interest” Online Photo Sweepstakes. Beginning October 8 at 6 p.m., fans can log on to http://highfivefor5X.snapfish.com and upload their favorite “High Five” photo to be entered into a drawing to win five tickets to an upcoming game of their favorite metro-area professional or college sports team. Follow @SnapfishbyHP on Twitter for updates about the online photo sweepstakes. You can join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #highfivefor5x. For more details, see official rules at http://highfivefor5X.com/a>.

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Earlier this off season, the Islanders lost two of their MSG hockey reporters in Deb Placey and Rob Carlin. Placey was moved to the Devils telecasts, while Carlin moved down to Baltimore to be near his wife, who is expecting the birth of twins.

This left a pretty big hole in the Islanders telecasts, with MSG slow to name a replacement. Yesterday, MSG Network finally named a replacement in Peter Ruttgaizer.

Ruttgaizer, a Toronto Native, isn’t a newcomer to the sport of hockey – having covered the Colorado Avalanche recently for Altitude Sports Network. He’s also done work for CBC Sports, EastLink Television, TSN in Winnepeg and CTV in Toronto covering professional and junior hockey as well as the CFL.

Here are a few clips of Ruttgaizer in action:

In a story on the Islanders website, Ruttgaizer had this to say:

“I’ve always thought about working with the MSG family, and the Islanders are an up-and-coming hockey team with a great history, so I’m honored to have this opportunity,” said Ruttgaizer. “MSG Network and MSG Plus are two of the premiere sports networks in the country and I’m excited to get started with Howie, Butch and the talented production staff.”

As you can tell from the video clips above, Ruttgaizer sounds professional and has knowledge on the game. He’s also said the right things about the organization, which is what we want to hear as fans. Carlin and Placey were great in their own ways, but sometimes change is ultimately not a horrible thing.

The MSG telecasts will still be held down by long time play by play man Howie Rose, with the color being called by Islanders alumni Butch Goring.

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The New York Islanders have signed Steve Staios to a one year contract today.

I think this is a great signing, and as I said the other day, Staios has looked great during camp and preseason. I felt he earned his contract after coming to the Islanders on a PTO.

With Milan Jurcina’s health in question – Staios being signed is that much more important depth wise.

Per the Islanders release:

The New York Islanders have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with defenseman Steve Staios.

Staios, who originally was attending the Islanders Training Camp on a tryout basis, has played in each of the Islanders three preseason games this month and is set to dress against the New Jersey Devils tonight at 7 p.m. at the Prudential Center.

The Hamilton, ON native has played in 936 career National Hockey League games, scoring 56 goals and 156 assists for 212 points. He has also accumulated 1,269 penalty minutes over the course of his 15-year NHL career.

Staios, originally drafted in the second round (27th overall) of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, played the last two seasons with the Calgary Flames. In 57 games, he totaled four goals and nine assists for 13 points.

He played in 573 games over the course of eight seasons with the Edmonton Oilers. Staios recorded 35 goals and 111 assists with the Oilers. The 6’1, 200 pound defenseman also played two seasons with the Atlanta Thrashers, three with the Vancouver Canucks and two with the Boston Bruins.

Internationally, Staios has represented Team Canada at the 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007 World Championships. He tallied two goals and four assists for six points in 33 games.

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Hockey is back! It may not be as organized or as polished as we, as fans would like – but it was great to watch and listen to the game last night.

The Islanders put forth a solid effort last night, despite being shutout 2-0 by their hosts the Calgary Flames – there were a few positive takeaways from the preseason contest however.

If you follow me on Twitter (I mean why don’t you?) you may have caught my little quip on how disorganized hockey makes my head hurt. This wasn’t in reference to any team in particular, as it was clear watching both teams (and highlights from the other games last night) that everyone is working out their kinks. It’s also important to point out, that the Islanders didn’t field a majority of the players we’ll see during the season.

As a matter of fact, the guys on TSN made a few witty comments on the overall age of the Islanders. They had joked about the players standing around in the runway leading to the ice lacking the veterans to lead them onto the ice, they joked about how you know you have a young team when half the players have to get dressed at the hotel before the game (as a peewee and midget who’s not done that?), and then referenced Ryan Strome’s baby face and how he’d get carded the first several years of his career. All light hearted stuff, but true none-the-less.

Let’s get the negatives out of the way.

Negatives

The young and inexperienced Islanders defenseman often made rushed decisions with the puck, clearing the puck right up the middle, clearing the puck late or at times – right to the opposition. Growing pains, no big deal.

Milan Jurcina getting injured, wasn’t said how extreme, just that he injured his groin and missed the second half of the game.

Evgeni Nabokov doing his best DiPietro impression (I had even joked about this on Twitter) straying out of the crease and misplaying the puck a few times. Shook his rust off though.

Kirill Kabanov showing a reluctance to shoot the puck, holding onto it a tad too long and making late passes unlike what we saw a few weeks ago during the rookie game.

Rhett Rhakshani leaving the game with another injury, although not ANOTHER concussion – this time to his knee.

Offense – the team struggled against the veteran heavy Flames, getting only 13 shots on net, thats after a full 60 minutes.

On to the positives

Positives

Evgeni Nabokov made 15 saves in the two periods he was in net. It took him a bit to shake the rust off, but you can see by his positioning and rebound control that the talent is there. I kept shaking my head ACTUALLY seeing him in net and hearing the phrase “Save Nabokov!”.

Ryan Strome.

This youngster has zip, playmaking ability and that moxie you just cannot ignore. He hasn’t looked too far out of place against the big boys, I expect him to get an extra look and perhaps the nine-game treatment.

Kirill Kabanov

Here is a kid that not longer than a year ago was labeled a headcase and another problem child Russian. He turned things around in for himself and is taking camp as serious as anyone. He’s looked sharp on Strome’s wing and may find himself in Bridgeport this year should his play continue.

The Vets

Marty Resasoner looks a bit rusty, granted he’s nursing his knee – but he showed some poise last night.

Jay Pandalfo made some heady moves with the puck last night. I like him for the fourth line if he gets a contract.

Steve Staios needs a contract. I’ve liked what I’ve seen and heard from him all of camp and preseason. He rounds out the defense nicely and adds needed depth.

Trevor Gillies has been hitting, they have been hard and clean. It looks like he spent his offseason really working on his game. (Now with video!)

With the a-team at home likely watching on Long Island last night – it was a decent game to watch overall.

There were some roster trims today via waivers, I’ll have something on that later on tonight.

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It’s been a great month for Islanders fans. It really has.

All things considered, this time of year is usually a tad depressing. The summer weather gradually shifts to cooler temperatures, the wardrobe tends to get heavier and more cumbersome, leaves begin to change colors and then fall to the ground. That being said, the cooler temps mean hockey season is right around the corner.

The Islanders started their training camp last weekend. Several Islanders reported to camp with contracts bearing that still-wet ink look. In case you’ve not heard by now, 2009 First Overall draft pick – John Tavares signed a six-year $33 Million Dollar contract extension. This put to rest many of the rumors (we will call them rumours as they originated to our north…) that Tavares would bolt as-soon-as he reached free agency. Next on Garth Snow’s to-do list was a new contract for Josh Bailey, whom did not sign his qualifying offer earlier this summer. Bailey agreed to terms on a 11th hour deal, a two year contract worth $2.1 Million Dollars.

This means that a majority of the teams core young guys: Okposo, Grabner, Moulson, and now Tavares are locked up for the next five years, at reasonable prices too. Next on the list, as we have all speculated – Frans Nielsen. I expect him to earn a raise as his contract has been a bargain for the last several years.

Today, the Islanders held a press conference – confirming what many of us have speculated on for the last while. Mark Streit was named the franchise’s 13th Captain in team history, and the first Swiss born player in the NHL to be named captain.

From the Islanders Press Release:

The New York Islanders announced today the appointment of defenseman Mark Streit as the 13th captain in the organization’s 40-year history.

Streit, 33, enters his fourth season with the Islanders in 2011-12. He missed the entire 2010-11 campaign with a shoulder injury, but in his first two seasons with the club, Streit led all Islanders in ice-time. He also led the team in scoring during the 2008-09 season, while ranking third in that category in 2009-10.

The Bern, SUI, native becomes the first team captain in National Hockey League history from Switzerland.

“It’s truly an honor to be named the captain of such a historic franchise with a rich history,” Streit said. “To follow in the foot-steps of so many legendary leaders that represented the Islanders is a role I am excited to fill. It is a privilege to be considered one of the leaders of this team and I’m committed to taking this team to the next level.”

The Islanders’ 12th captain, Doug Weight, relinquished the position after two years of service when he retired on May 26, 2011. Streit has served as an assistant captain at various points throughout his three-year Islanders career.

“Throughout his three seasons with the Islanders, Mark has been a steadying presence in our dressing room,” said General Manager Garth Snow. “He is constantly pushing himself to be the very best and demands the same from his teammates. Mark is a leader both on and off the ice and we are pleased to name him the 13th team captain in Islanders history.”

The Montreal Canadiens selected Streit in the ninth round (262nd overall) of the 2004 National Hockey League Entry Draft. In 361 career NHL games, he’s scored 52 goals and 162 assists for 214 points. Streit has also played in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games, recording one goal and three assists.

In international play, Streit has served as captain for Team Switzerland at numerous World Championships and Winter Olympic games. In total, he’s played in 74 World Championship games, 15 Winter Olympic games and 11 World Junior Championship games.

Mark Streit has been one of the most surprising players on this young Islanders squad. Signed as a free agent after spending time in the Montreal Canadiens organization, Streit dominated on the Island. Watching his steady progression has been a great experience. His presence on the back end can be compared, at least in my eyes – to that of Kenny Jonnson. Big hits, timely goals and extremely sound positionally.

It absolutely killed the Islanders when Streit fell to injury last year in training camp, he’s that big of a player for them. Hopefully he’s put the injury behind him and really shines this season.

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News out of Russia this morning brings more heartbreak to the NHL during a time of remembrance for players lost here in North America.

A chartered plane for the KHL’s Lokomotiv hockey team has crashed, allegedly killing a majority of the clubs roster.

Per the AP story:

TUNOSHNA, Russia (AP)—A Russian jet carrying a top ice hockey team crashed into a river bank Wednesday while taking off in western Russia, killing at least 43 people and leaving two others critically injured, officials said.

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the Yak-42 plane crashed in sunny weather immediately after leaving an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, on the Volga River about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Moscow.

It said the plane was carrying the Lokomotiv ice hockey team from Yaroslavl to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where it was to play Thursday against Dinamo Minsk in the opening game of the season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The ministry was carrying 45 people, including 37 passengers and eight crew, and two people survived the crash.

There were quite a few NHL names among them: Defensemen Karel Rachunek, Ruslan Salei and Karlis Skrastins, as well as forwards Pavol Demitra and Josef Vasicek  all spent a good deal of time in the NHL and were listed on the most current roster on the KHL website. Forward Alexander Vasyunov played in 18 games with the New Jersey Devils this past season.

Josef Vasicek played for the Islanders for 81 games in 2007, scoring 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points. He signed with Lokomotiv in 2008 where he’s played since. Note: It is unknown at this time of Vasicek was on board the downed jetliner at this time. He is on the roster however.

Here is a video made by Two Man Advantage during the Islanders 2007 training camp, as a good tribute to Vasicek’s character.

Vasicek wasn’t the only player, or ex-player with ties to the Islanders organization. Lokomotiv’s head coach Brad McCrimmon was an Assistant Coach on the team from 97-99.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved in this tragedy, the Hockey World mourns the loss of some of our brothers.

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Things have been downright slow in Islanders Country, so slow – that news of Ice Girl Tryouts and apparently something else that may, or may not, be edible with an Isles logo will be coming soon seem exciting to the hockey famished freaks, like myself.

Then as always there is the latest and greatest fad for those who follow other teams not named the New York Islanders, mock and bash them for every step they make (or even don’t lately).

Cue the chorus, we have Jersey Gate.

If you’ve been following lately, you’ve seen some leaks posted out on the interwebz claiming what could be the Islanders third jersey for the upcoming season. It’s hard to explain, well no – it’s not. It’s a jersey sans the awesome crest on the chest that we have all come to know and love, it features colors that were a fixture way back when Starter was the NHL’s uniform designer – yeah, we’re talking black folks.

It’s easier to just show you a picture, courtesy of my friend Greg over at Puck Daddy that ran last week – this was round one of Jersey Gate:

I don’t really have an opinion on the jersey, well strike-that – I likely wouldn’t buy one, I absolutely love the old-school retro nod to the glory days the team is currently wearing. I’ll certainly be purchasing one of those this year, you know – with the 40th Anniversary Patch.

The team did issue a statement last week however, in reference to this leaked design, via their Twitter Feed:

There was a problem connecting to Twitter.

Fast forward to the second alleged leak of a similar jersey design over on Icethetics and we have this image:

We already knew how I stood on the first design, the second is pretty much the same.

The only thing I can remind everyone about, NOTHING is set in stone until the Islanders themselves release word and/or photos of their third jersey. I’ll also remind everyone that their last third jersey was a variant of what they wear currently.

The Islanders have asked their fans what they wanted in a third jersey – I doubt they’d ignore that given how active they are in the Social Media department.

Have a little faith fans, until then – I point back to their short statement via Twitter earlier in this post.

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Here is a statement by Islanders owner, Charles Wang on the referendum that was voted down on Monday.

I know I speak for myself when I say I have guarded optimism that the Islanders will remain on Long Island. It’s only fitting were going through this on the teams 40th Anniversary right?

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They often say that a picture is worth a thousand words – well videos convey feelings and emotions in ways words often come up short.

Flash back to the 2002 Playoffs – Islanders vs Toronto

Shawn Bates is screaming down the left boards and gets taken down in front of CuJo. The Islanders are awarded their third playoff penalty shot in team history….well you know how it ends.

Many people are using attendance as a reason to Vote NO on Monday. History has shown that there are a ton of Islanders fans waiting, wishing and most importantly – WANTING for another shot at the playoffs. The Coliseum can be a loud and intimidating place, many teams have said so and continue to say the same.

Take a listen for yourself, 16,000 Islanders fans – all rooting for Long Island’s only professional sports franchise. If you vote no on Monday, the only thing you’ll here is silence – so go ahead and listen to the amazing sound and excitement the Coliseum is set to hear in the near future:

If you build it, they will come. Jobs will be saved, you’ll help the local economy and most importantly – keep Long Island, specifically Nassau County, a destination for people to come and enjoy for generations.

Without the Islanders and the Coliseum there’s not much more than some white noise and the occasional strip mall – if you can find a store that’s still open anyway.

Do Long Island and Nassau County a favor – Vote YES on Monday August, 1st. Help the Islanders create more history, and complete their Drive for Five!

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I’ve wanted to post something on the Islanders Arena debate for some time now – but being summer and in the HVAC trade, it’s been hard to make time. As you can see though, I’ve added a VOTE YES banner above some time ago that links right to the Islanders page on the arena project.

I know there is a lot of debate on this subject and it’s the very reason why I have such a distaste for politics in general. I wish I could vote on Monday, August 1st – I picked the worst time to become a resident of East Hampton, after living in Nassau for 30 years. That doesn’t mean my support of this Arena isn’t there however.

I’ve preached endlessly to family, friends and co-workers on the benefits of this project, and what COULD happen should the vote not pass. I’m even having my office put out a memo with tomorrow’s paycheck reminding Nassau County residents about the vote Monday and why they should be supportive of this, it does have an effect on everyone, fans of the Islanders or not.

I think that’s the coolest part in all of this, Isles, Rangers and Devils fans alike are all saying the same things in unison – that the Islanders are important to the community and need this arena to survive.

If you listened to WFAN’s Mike Fransesca this week talk to Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs – you’d know the Democrats are dead set against this – it’s a Republican idea after all. Fransesca buried Jacobs in the interview – shooting down his suggestion of PSL’s for seats like in football, among other half wit ideas he threw out there. It was blatantly clear that Jacobs wants HIS cronies to build on this 77-acre parcel in Nassau.

Islanders owner Charles Wang followed and really hit a home run, thanks in part to Jacobs. He addressed taxes, reminded the listeners he’d be on the hook for any cost overruns above $350-Million, cited studies that show how LITTLE taxes would go up of the referendum passes and how much taxes would go up if the Islanders leave Nassau and the arena goes dark.

If Nassau Coliseum goes dark – it will be shuttered. It’s in dire shape and the cost to improve the facility wouldn’t be worth the money with no major tenant. That means no more concerts, the circus, car and boat shows and other shows that come to the arena when there isn’t hockey. In turn, the surrounding businesses in the area would suffer as well – and that’s not good during these tough economic times.

The most important factoid in all of this, the unprecedented revenue sharing deal that the Islanders and Nassau County have agreed to. The Islanders will pay 11.5% of ALL revenue earned, per year towards repaying the “loan” of the bonds. At the bare minimum, based on an independent study – this would GUARANTEE $14-Million a year to the county. Obviously, the better the arena does with events (tickets, concessions, parking ect.) the more the county earns.

The onus is on us, Long Islanders, Nassau County residents, the young and old – to correct past mistakes and help build towards a brighter future on Long Island. Enough of the political games, Long Islanders DESERVE a destination and it would be a tragedy to lose an arena, and more importantly Long Island’s only professional sports franchise – due to politics.

This Island used to be something special, people came here in droves to make a better life and live life to the fullest. Well, the Island is becoming a dry desert – businesses shuttered, corporations leaving New York due to the cost of doing business, the “brain drain” of Long Islands youth that leave for college and never return. This can all stop, if you go out on Monday August 1st, and VOTE YES for the Arena Referendum.

Do your small part to save long Island, and help the local economy.

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