Team DC Stays Course to Win Second
If at first you don’t succeed …
Team DC peppered San Diego goalie Jack Ferlitic with shots throughout the first and second periods Friday, at one point holding a 30-4 shots advantage, but couldn’t seem to figure out the quick and athletic netminder.
Finally, with 6:04 left in the second period, Nick Wood (Potomac Patriots/Woodbridge) converted a power-pay centering feed from Luke Leydig (DeMatha) to put DC in front and open the floodgates. Well, sort of.
Noah Hope (Tri-City Eagles/Good Counsel) buried the rebound off a Peter Haas (Hampton Roads Whalers) shot just 1:09 later to make it 2-0 and propel Team DC to what would be a 4-0 victory as the team improved to 2-0 at America’s Showcase St. Louis.
Chistian Halbig (Team Maryland/DeMatha) added a late second-period rebound goal, and Leydig finished the scoring in the third period with his second in two days as Team DC rolled up a 40-6 shots advantage for the game. Ben Algatt (Howard Huskies/Calvert Hall) recorded the shutout win.
The DC win, paired with an overtime victory by yesterday’s opponent Arizona against Washington, leaves the team in first place in America’s Showcase St. Louis Pool B “Freedom” with five points. Washington has five points, followed by Arizona with four and San Diego with zero. A Team DC victory against Washington tomorrow would guarantee a berth in Sunday’s quarterfinals for the first time in recent memory.
“The shot total today is a bit misleading because at times our shot selection wasn’t the best,” Team DC head coach Joe Vonakis said. “That will happen when you aren’t converting and start to press. But we stuck with the plan and stayed after them all game. It was a solid, workmanlike win, and it sets us up in great position to make the playoffs.”
Team DC controlled play and possessed the puck inside the San Diego zone for much of the first period, but couldn’t beat Ferlitic despite several good chances and four power-play opportunities. Power plays would be the theme of the day as DC would get 10 power-play opportunities against a physical team that at times crossed the line. Wood tallied the team's only extra-man goal of the day and created several other opportunities throughout the game for himself and others, including a breakaway in the third period. On the flip side, DC did some of its best work on the penalty kill - successfully killing six penalties - and in 4-on-4 situations.
In one memorable sequence with the DC short two players, Halbig stole the puck twice in the neutral zone and then carried it into the offensive end, creating multiple scoring chances and battling to possess the puck and kill time. Eventually after bottling up San Diego for nearly a minute, Halbig managed to draw a penalty, which seemed to be the final blow to San Diego’s morale.
“The game was rough at times and could have gotten a little out of control, but for the most part our guys did a good job of being disciplined and not getting caught up in the extra-curricular stuff,” Vonakis said.
So far through two games Leydig leads Team DC in goals with two, while he and Haas are tied with three points apiece. Wood and Aidan Ritter (TI Selects/Aidan Ritter) each have two points.
Team DC takes on Washington Saturday at 1 p.m. (CDT) on www.HockeyTV.com with a quarterfinal berth at stake.
