Team DC Rally Falls Short vs. Arizona
It’s a tough lesson to learn, especially for a team with only a few practices together that is trying to find its chemistry, but it takes a full 60-minute effort to beat a good hockey team.
Today, Team DC sandwiched a strong first period and a better third period around a rough middle frame and just couldn’t dig itself out of the hole in a 3-1 loss to Arizona in its second game at America’s Showcase St. Louis.
With the loss, DC drops to 0-2 and will not advance to the quarterfinals out of Pool B. Team DC closes pool play tomorrow at noon Eastern time against Florida and then will play in a consolation game sometime Sunday.
“We came out strong again today very much like yesterday,” head coach Joe Vonakis said. “We were all over them early and hit multiple posts in the first period or it might have been a different story. When you expend that much energy and control play and get nothing out of it, that can deflate you and take some of the energy out of your game. That seemed to happen in the second period.”
Team DC gave up three second-period goals after holding a 16-5 shots advantage through the first 17 minutes. The third-goal, a short-handed tally by Declan George, was the backbreaker as DC tried to climb back into the game with the extra man.
The third period was a much different story, however, and may have been DC’s best of the tournament so far. Liam Eden (Tri-City 18U AA/Spalding H.S.) gave Team DC life at 9:32 of the final frame, scoring from the slot with DeMatha teammates Erick Reiniger and Christian Halbig (Team Maryland 16U AAA) picking up assists, to cut the lead to 3-1.
From that point on it was all DC, but they could not beat Arizona netminder Guy Blessing, who finished with 36 saves. Team DC held a 37-20 shots advantage for the game and outshot Arizona by a 13-3 margin in the third period. Arizona held a 12-8 shots advantage in the decisive middle frame.
“Taking a step back and thinking about the game and looking at the numbers and how we played overall the last two days, and we could very easily be 2-0,” Vonakis said. “It’s a game of inches and capitalizing on mistakes, and we just didn’t finish some opportunities and probably could have shot the puck more. That said, the effort cannot be questioned, and the scouts were lined up outside our door after the game. That’s what this is all about.”
Henri Pelletier (Montgomery 18U AA/Quince Orchard H.S.) was steady in goal for Team DC, turning aside 17 or 20 Arizona shots.
Saturday’s noon Eastern game against Florida can be seen live on www.HockeyTV.com.
