Team DC Rally Falls Short vs. Washington

Team DC dug itself an early 2-0 hole and fought hard to come back and take control of the game for long stretches, but Team Washington seemed to capitalize on most if its quality scoring opportunities and skated away with a 5-3 victory Saturday at RMU Island Sports Center to advance to the quarterfinals of the USA Hockey America's Showcase in Pittsburgh.

Both teams recorded 27 shots on goal and about the same number of scoring chances in what really was a pretty even game in almost every category. But Team DC cost itself with some early penalties, and took some time to find its rhythm.

In a game that featured some interesting calls, including a rare "slew foot" penalty that sent a key Team DC defensive player to the locker room for good early in the game, Team DC found itself on the short end of the power-play tally by a 7-3 margin. And one of Team DC's three power plays resulted in a back-breaking shorthanded goal by Washington with just 18 seconds left in the second period that broke a 2-2 tie after Team DC had worked so hard to climb back into the game.

"It's tough to get going when you have to kill four penalties in the first period," head coach Rob Trantin said. "Our kids showed a lot of fight today and played at a better pace with more intensity, but those penalties made it tough for us to get into a normal shift rotation and find the chemistry we needed to win the game. Three special-teams goals are tough to overcome."

Trailing 2-0 after one, Team DC came out with a renewed sense of purpose in the second period after a physical opening 17 minutes. Devin Lowe got the puck from John Cardellicchio on the corner of the crease, held it as the defense shifted toward him and fed a perfect cross-crease pass to Trevor Dixon for an easy tap-in at 3:02. Almost exactly three minutes later Team DC tied it when Billy Jenkins blasted a top-shelf one-timer past Washington goaltender Owen Roche off a pretty through-the-seams, cross-ice pass from Kevin Polak for a power-play goal. Defenseman Matt Cremen picked up the second assist on that tally.

The game remained tied, with Team DC getting the better of the play for most of the remainder of the period. It looked like Team DC finally got the break it needed to take full control with 1:42 left in the second when Stanley Skorulski was whistled for roughing. But somehow Caleb Moretz managed to sneak behind the Team DC defense and scored on a smooth deke of netminder Adam Childs with just 18 seconds remaining in the period.

With Team DC controlling play in the early part of the third period, Washington still managed a pair of goals in the first 11:47, one coming on a power play. Team DC kept fighting and finally cut the margin to 5-3 in the final minutes with the goalie pulled when Lowe got the puck in the neutral zone from Cremen, crossed the blue line with speed and feathered a soft pass to Dixon who fired the puck high past the goalie after changing his stick angle with a slick toe-drag move.

Childs made 22 saves for Team DC in his second solid performance of the tournament. Team DC is back in action Sunday in the consolation round at 4 p.m. against Indiana, an A Pool team that should provide a strong challenge. The game can be seen live on www.FastHockey.com and there will be live updates here and on the @TeamDCHockey Twitter account.

Dixon and Lowe continue to pace Team DC in scoring with five points apiece, which ties them for fifth among all scorers in the 24-team event.