As the Washington Little Capitals U16 American team came into their final 3 games of the NJPHL regular season, they found themselves in a position to secure 3rd place in the regular season of the NJPHL.

After dropping the first contest to the Pittsburgh Vengeance in a shootout, the Little Caps were determined to find their way back to the win column against the Southern Tier Xpress. Washington controlled the play early and throughout the contest as they outshot the Xpress, 41 to 17. With only 9 seconds separating two first period goals by Sam Homick (#78) and Connor Reid (#5), the team was able to jump out to an early lead.

With Xpress goaltender, Zach McMurray (#37), exhibiting stellar play and thwarting away opportunity after opportunity for the Capitals, the Xpress were able to narrow the score to one with six minutes remaining in regulation. Through utter determination and hard work, Anish Deena (#74) put the game out of reach when the Little Capitals defenseman found the back of the net with 5 minutes and 37 seconds left. As the game winded down, the Capitals locked down their defensive zone and didn't afford the Xpress a scoring chance for the rest of the game.

On the next day of the showcase, featured matchups against North Broward Prep and the Cleveland Lumberjacks stood in the way of Washington clinching the 3rd seed for the Rochester playoff showcase.

Against North Broward Prep, Washington seemed to start where they left off the night before: dominant in puck possession and shot attempts. However, the Little Capitals couldn’t seem to solve North Broward’s goalie, Devin Selleck (#6). Two first period goals by North Broward quickly put Washington in a hole that they worked extremely hard to battle back from all game. Although Reid (#5) was finally able to poke a puck past Selleck with 2 minutes left, the Capitals could not capitalize in a last minute fury and eventually fell to North Broward, 2-1.

For their final game, Washington faced the Cleveland Lumberjacks in what could be a potential first-round playoff matchup. Washington weathered the early storm from a Cleveland team that was determined to set the tone of the game with their physical nature. By allowing only a single goal throughout the first period, Washington was able to use the intermission to settle in and play their smart, simple, team-first system that is coupled with their hard work.

The 2nd period was a completely different story for the Capitals as they netted four straight goals to capture the momentum heading into the final frame. Scott Strauss (#18) was a key factor in turning the tide as he scored his first goal of the season, on a rebound shot from Jason Kleinhans. Players seemed to gain more and more confidence and a sense of calmness around Strauss’ tremendous effort to drive the net for a rebound. Netminder, Ben Gruber (#40), got the win on 27 saves for Washington.

Next up for the Capitals is a regular season matchup, at the Junior Titans in an important Atlantic Youth Hockey League weekend.