Leydig Wins Team DC Opener in OT
Although Team DC carried play and possessed the puck for long stretches against Arizona Thursday, there weren’t many shots or great scoring chances. But they made sure to make the ones they did take count.
Luke Leydig (DeMatha) punched home the game-winner just 18 seconds into overtime off a great cross-ice feed from Nick Wood (Potomac Patriots/Woodbridge) to lift Team DC to a thrilling 4-3 victory against Arizona in Game 1 of America’s Showcase St. Louis at St. Peter’s Rec Plex. GOAL VIDEO
As Team DC streamed off the bench to congratulate the hero, it was quite a different scene from just a few minutes earlier when the boys from DC were staring at a one-goal deficit and a man-down situation after Trevor Reece was whistled for tripping with 2:34 remaining in regulation.
That call seemed to light a fire, however, as Team DC swarmed Arizona despite being shorthanded over the next 13 seconds. The pressure resulted with Aidan Ritter (TI Selects/Calvert Hall) taking a hit along the half wall and threading a perfect feed to Peter Hass (Hampton Roads Whalers), who beat Arizona netminder Bryce Marcil with a tricky shot to even the score with just 2:11 remaining.
None of that would have been possible without the heroic play of Team DC goaltender Ty Morton (Montgomery Blue Devils/Landon), who made three huge saves earl y in the third period to not only keep his team in the game, but also energize his mates.
Morton first flashed a pad to thwart a 2-on-1 chance then turned aside a true breakaway before stopping another 1-on-1 opportunity.
“It took a while for us to get our legs and to build a little bit of chemistry,” head coach Joe Vonakis said. “We expected that somewhat after the long travel day and skating together as a group just a few times. Ty make some great saves to keep us in the game, and I thought we played with great energy in the third period. We will be looking for that type of effort the rest of the tournament.”
For the game, Team DC was credited with only 19 shots on goal, while Morton turned aside 13 of the 16 shots he faced.
Jack Massey (Team Maryland/Gonzaga) opened the scoring 2:36 into the opening period with a beautiful unassisted goal after weaving through the Arizona defense. Arizona responded less than two minutes remaining with the first of three straight tallies that had DC on the ropes and trailing 3-1 4:30 into the second frame.
But Brian Kerrigan (Potomac Patriots/Kettle Run) managed to sneak one through traffic for a power-play marker 7:40 into the second to cut the margin to one, which is where the game stood entering the final frame. Trevor Younkins (Team Maryland/River Hill) and Ryan Olson (Team Maryland/DeMatha) picked up the assists on Kerrigan’s goal.
That set the stage for Haas and Leydig’s heroics.
Leydig scored right off the opening faceoff of the extra session. After losing the draw and an Arizona offensive-zone turnover, Wood sprinted up the left wing and held the puck just long enough to draw the defenseman toward him before firing a pass right on Leydig’s tape for the one-time game-winner.
“I put the three kids who I thought had the best game for us out for the opening faceoff, and I guess it worked out pretty well,” Vonakis said.
Team DC picked up two out of a possible three points with the overtime win and currently sits a point behind Washington in “B” Pool Freedom Division Standings with a 10 a.m. (CDT) matchup against San Diego awaiting Friday. Team DC wraps up play Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest against Washington.
Vonakis said that the victory was something to build on: “This was a great start for us, and I think if we can build on the effort we generated in the last 15 minutes of today’s game we should be in good shape going forward.”
