NHL Sled Hockey Classic

Over the Veterans Day weekend the Washington Capitals sponsored a team in the third annual USA Hockey Sled Classic presented by the National Hockey League. The tournament took place in Buffalo with the Rockville, Md., USA Warriors ice hockey team representing Washington. The team is comprised of wounded service members, the majority of whom are based out of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

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The USA Hockey Sled Classic is an annual round robin format tournament between NHL-affiliated teams. Established in 2010, it is the first competitive adult tournament of its kind. The Capitals won all five of their contests over the weekend, outscoring their opponents 36-3 while winning the B division championship. Josh Misiewicz, the team’s captain, was the leading scorer in both the A and B divisions with 21 goals and five assists while every other skater scored. The Capitals-sponsored team recorded three shutouts in their five games played.

Honorary captain Tim Hall was the second leading scorer on the team and in division B with five goals and five assists. Skip Robson, Christy Gardner, Jason Kreczmer and Justin Mills also recorded goals. On defense, Sean Karpf, Jeremy Kuehl and Andrew Wilson supported goalie Bo Reichenbach.

The 2012 competition marked the first year a Capitals-sponsored team participated in the classic. Washington Capitals Charities, the nonprofit arm of the Washington Capitals, funded the registration fee and provided the USA Warriors with Capitals Jerseys including the players’ names and numbers, in addition to helmet decals.

A member of USA Hockey and the Potomac Valley Amateur Hockey Association, the mission of the USA Warriors ice hockey program is to organize and administer an ice hockey program that provides a recreational, therapeutic experience and education to those wounded in defense of the United States. Established in 2006, the team is based out of the Rockville Ice Arena.