Team DC Knocks Off A-Pool Team in Finale
When you see a team come together, become a family and improve literally every single day, you don’t want it to end – whether it’s an 82-game season or a four-game tournament.
Team DC capped a successful trip to America’s Showcase St. Louis Sunday with a 6-2 victory over A-Pool opponent Team Midwest at St. Peter’s Rec-Plex. With the victory, DC’s first in recent memory against an A-Pool opponent, Team DC finished the tournament having won its last two games by a combined score of 13-4 while outshooting its last three foes by a combined 123-58.
“The thing I’m happiest about with this team is that the players gave a tremendous effort and played as a team in every game,” head coach Joe Vonakis said “That is frequently not the case in showcase tournaments. The guys really enjoyed being around each other on and off the ice, and that showed in the games. There were so many unselfish plays, and you could see and hear the genuine joy among team members when someone scored a goal. We got better each game, and from what I saw, could have competed with any team in the tournament.”
Team DC finished the showcase with at 2-2 record, and had it been able to earn a victory in either of the first two contests, DC would have been a good bet to advance to the playoff round. A late defensive breakdown led to a hard-fought 3-2 loss to Texas in Thursday’s opening game, and then Team DC controlled play for most of the game Friday in a 3-1 loss to Arizona but just couldn’t finish enough of its numerous scoring opportunities.
But the floodgates opened Saturday in a 7-2 win against Florida, and the onslaught continued in the consolation win against Team Midwest Sunday as six different players scored goals in a game that saw Team DC skate to a 42-22 shots advantage against a solid hockey team.
“We have so many players who can do so many things,” Voankis said. “Once we got on the same page as far as our forecheck was concerned and began trusting each other – once the nervousness was out of our system – we played at a very high compete and skill level. You could see us start to turn the corner against Arizona, and then it all just clicked for the last two games. A break here or there and we are talking about a playoff team for sure.”
Alvon Barard (DeMatha H.S./Tri-City 18U AA) led the offensive attack with a goal and an assist to finish the tournament as the team’s leading scorer with three goals and two assists. To illustrate the team’s balance, seven other players contributed three points each, and six had two points. All told, 16 players recorded at least a point, according to the official stats, which definitely are not 100 percent accurate. Please excuse any inaccuracies.
Barard was one of three players to record multiple points along with Peter Haas (Piedmont 18U/Forest Park-Hylton H.S.), who had a goal and an assist, Henry Pendleton (DeMatha H.S./Team Maryland 16U AAA), who notched three assists, and Nolan Murphy (Woodbridge H.S./Potomac Patriot Jrs.), who dished out a pair of helpers.
Alex Simuro (Bishop Ireton, H.S./Nova Ice Dogs 16U AA) opened the scoring just 2:02 into the game, the first time Team DC scored first in the tournament. He deflected a waist-high point shot by Wyatt Hinkson (DeMatha H.S./Team Maryland 18U AAA) past Luke Weberg to put DC in front.
Christian Halbig (DeMatha H.S./Team Maryland 16U AAA) was next to tally for Team DC, firing a tricky wrister from the point that Weberg couldn’t handle at 4:21 of the second period. Midwest responded about five minutes later, but DC would get goals from Noah Blonder (Mt. St. Joseph H.S./Team Maryland 18U AAA) and Haas to take control after two periods.
Midwest cut the margin to 5-2 3:28 into the final frame, but Barard and DeMatha teammate Erick Reiniger finished off the scoring as Team DC possessed the puck for most of the game’s final 10 minutes.
Team DC’s defensive breakdowns were few and far between, but then they did occur, goaltender Henri Pelletier (Quince Orchard H.S./Montgomery 18U AA) rose to the occasion and came up big, making 20 saves for the game, including a spectacular third-period glove save that deflated the Midwest group.
“Our team really opened some eyes this weekend,” Vonakis said. “Scouts were lined up outside our locker-room door – even after the losses – which shows that they saw what I did: a very committed, hard-working team with great skill that played the game the right way. More important than what happened on the ice, though, our team performed at a championship level off the ice. We really couldn’t ask much more from them this weekend. It’s sad to see it end, but I could not be happier with how the showcase went.”
Team DC would like to thank all the volunteers who make this event so great every year. It truly was a team effort and was great to see so many familiar faces from Pittsburgh working alongside folks from Missouri to ensure a smooth transition and another tremendous showcase.
THANK YOU!
