Ovechkin Leads Team A to Victory in Second Annual Gaetan Duchesne Cup

Alex Ovechkin and teammates gather with the Gaetan Duchesne Cup Wednesday at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.

Washington Capitals Press Release

Left wing registers four assists in 9-5 victory over Team B

ARLINGTON, Va. – The second annual Gaetan Duchesne Cup was decided in a wide-open affair, as Team A captured the trophy with a 9-5 victory over Team B at Kettler Capitals Iceplex Wednesday afternoon. Alex Ovechkin notched four assists, setting up linemate Mike Knuble twice as Team A finished the three-team intrasquad series with a 2-0-0 record.

The back-and-forth contest featured outstanding goal-scoring from both teams. Team A opened up a 3-0 lead in the first period. Center Joel Broda scored Team A’s first goal four minutes into the first period, beating Semyon Varlamov between the pads. Five minutes later, Kyle Wilson scored from in close off a nice feed from Ovechkin, putting Team A up 2-0. With 1:30 remaining, Brandon Sugden finished a two-on-one rush, scoring into an open net after an initial shot by Broda hit the post.

Play opened up considerably in the second period, as the teams combined for nine goals. Team B got things going with a strong start to the second period. Defenseman Patrick McNeill beat Jose Theodore with a wrist shot over the glove, cutting Team A’s lead to 3-1. A few shifts later, Brendan Morrison scored on a rebound to pull Team B within a goal with 14:50 to play. Team A responded with two quick goals from Wilson (second of the game), and Oskar Osala to regain a three-goal lead at 5-2. Minutes later, Alexander Semin capitalized on a defensive zone turnover, beating Theodore low to cut Team A’s lead to 5-3.

Team A stormed back with three straight goals. Ovechkin set up Knuble in front of the net with a cross-ice pass, and the center converted for a 6-3 lead. In the closing minutes of the period, Dmitri Kugryshev beat Varlamov with a backhand over the goaltender’s shoulder and Ovechkin fed Knuble again from the wing to give Team A an 8-3 lead. With just over a minute to play, Team B’s Boyd Kane scored on a breakaway to make it 8-4, which was the score at the end of the period.

Team B cut the lead to three on a breakaway goal from Alexandre Giroux five minutes into the third period. With 10:08 remaining Ovechkin, stationed behind the net, found Boyd Gordon open in the slot to put Team A up 9-5.

Head coach Bruce Boudreau presented Ovechkin with the Gaetan Duchesne Cup at the conclusion of the game. Ovechkin then shared the trophy with his team and posed for pictures at center ice.

The Gaetan Duchesne Cup was created by Boudreau during the Caps 2008 training camp to foster competition and honor former Capitals player Gaetan Duchesne. Duchesne was an eighth-round draft pick who made the team and went on to play for the Caps from 1982-87. During his career he scored 87 goals and had 225 points in 451 games. He passed away in April of 2007 at the age of 44.

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