Team DC Opens With Heartbreaker
If today’s opening game for Team DC in America’s Showcase St. Louis is any indication of what we can expect for the rest of the tournament, we are in for a great ride.
In one of the most intense showcase games you will ever see, Texas got a breakaway goal off a 140-foot stretch pass to Alexander McBey with 1:48 remaining in the third period to knock off Team DC, 3-2. The goal capped a high-tempo, back-and-forth affair that saw Team DC rally twice from one-goal deficits before falling short.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the team or the players’ effort,” Team DC head coach Joe Vonakis said. “It wasn’t always pretty, but that’s how it’s going to be in a game of that intensity. We will fix some little things to get better each game, but this group has tremendous potential.”
McBey opened the scoring on a first-period power-play goal 3:45 into the contest, sneaking one through the pads of Team DC goalie Jack MacKinnon (O’Connell/Potomac Patriots USPHL Jr.) from the left circle. The first period would end with Texas leading, 1-0, and the game would stay that way early in the second when DeMatha’s Erick Reiniger fired a shot off the crossbar from the top of the left circle.
Team DC finally got on the board 9:30 into the second when defenseman Brian Kerrigan (Kettle Run/Potomac Patriots USPHL Jr.) fed Tiger Bjornlund (Whitman/Montgomery 18U AA) at the left point with a man advantage. Bjornlund fired a low, hard shot through traffic that eluded Texas netminder Royce Allred to tie the game at 1.
DC seized the momentum and controlled play for most of the rest of the period, and the two teams entered the third tied at 1. Shots on goal were 20-17 in Team D.C.’s favor in what had been a tight-tight checking game up to that point.
Texas took control back early in the third, breaking the tie on a point shot by David Girardi that found its way through a maze of players and into the net at 6:25 of the final frame.
Taking advantage of Texas’ fifth penalty of the game, Team DC tied it just 1:05 later when Alvon Barard (DeMatha/Tri-City Eagles) corralled a rebound of Kerrigan’s point shot thanks to some hard work by Gavin Gustafson (Nova 16U AA/West Potomac) and slid it into the net.
The game went back and forth for the next seven minutes, with the teams trading chances, including a great opportunity from in-close for Gustafson. But Texas would manage to sneak a 140-foot stretch pass between Team DC defenders to McBey, who fired a low, hard shot past MacKinnon for the game winner in the final two minutes.
MacKinnon finished the game with 22 saves, while Allred turned aside 19 Team DC offerings.
Team DC returns to action Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern against Arizona. All showcase games can be viewed live on www.HockeyTV.com.
