Isles step up for Lighthouse Cup

We all know how much the Islanders do for the local community -- just check out their website -- but here's one you may not have heard about.

The annual Long Island high school ice hockey all-star game was the Vytra Cup, and it matched the best in Suffolk County against the top players from Nassau in a showdown on the Nassau Coliseum ice. Well, with little notice, Vytra pulled its sponsorship of the game, putting the annual event -- which is a tremendous opportunity for these kids -- in jeopardy.

The Islanders didn't allow that to happen, stepping in as the game's sponsor and renaming it the Lighthouse Cup. The game will be played on Monday, January 21 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) at 5 p.m., after the Islanders' 2 p.m. game against the Hurricanes. And the Islanders aren't just sponsoring the game, they are broadcasting it LIVE on their website on Islanders TV for anyone who can't make it in person.

That's a tremendous move by the Islanders to support Long Island hockey and give as many people as possible the chance to enjoy it. So why not take in a holiday matinee and stick around to see the best young players in Nassau and Suffolk face off? Now THAT's an afternoon of entertainment.

I'll of course be rooting for Suffolk, which will have my buddy Frank Pasquale of the Connetquot/Sayville T-Birds behind the bench.