Men’s club ice hockey fell 3-0 to Georgetown University in their annual “Battle of DC” showdown at the Capitol One Arena on  Sunday. 

The match is the first out of a three game series against the Hoyas, which resulted in an overall GW victory in the series last season. The loss ties off a four-game losing streak for the Revs after dropping all three games during a road trip to Tennessee last weekend, where they faced off against the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University.

“We’re going to come back on Saturday, and we’re going to be a lot more ready to go, and we’re going to have a lot of fun, and I think we’re going to take it to them,” senior captain Cade Llewellyn said.

He said despite the difficult matchup, the Revs kept their spirits up and fought a tough battle. 

“This game every year is a lot of fun for us,” Llewellyn said. “I think tonight’s no different. It’s the same result we had here last year, exact same score. But I can never fault these guys with how hard we work off the ice, on the ice at practice.”

After dropping the first matchup against Georgetown last season, GW went on to win the season series, beating them 5-4 and 6-1 and finishing the fall semester with a 7-2 record. Senior forward Clendenin Stewart scored three goals in the team’s final matchup against Georgetown.

The first period opened with aggression under Hoya possession, and within the first five minutes, Georgetown had seven attempted shots on goal. The Hoyas opened scoring with back-to-back goals with 8:19 and 7:17 remaining in the first period.

The Revs struggled to keep up, finding difficulties completing passes throughout the first period. Georgetown had both roughing and tripping penalties after their two-goal scoring streak, but GW failed to capitalize on the opportunity, unable to work against the Hoyas’ physicality.

The Revs blocked multiple Hoya attempts at the goal in the second period. GW attempted to claw back with numerous shots on goal in the first half of the second period, but none were successful. 

The Hoyas continued their physical play in the third period with numerous body checks against the Revs. With 8:36 remaining in the game, the Hoyas scored one final time, going up 3-0 and clinching the win.

Llewellyn said that this year’s team consists of a majority of returning players and an influx of four freshmen to the roster. 

“We lost one senior, and so it’s already a pretty tight knit group,” Llewelyn said. “Our freshmen that came in, they’re buying into our systems.”

Freshmen forwards Jungung Park, Eric Schuster and Barak Landis joined the roster this season.

Llewellyn said the team gets excited and brings extra energy to play against the Hoyas every year because the showdown takes on a new meaning of playing in the professional arena of the Washington Capitals. He said that the D.C. showdown is the only game where the team has a dress code, wearing turtlenecks and blazers as a way to honor their old captain, Augie Burkhardt.

“But we figure, you know, we get to be in an NHL rank,” Llewelyn said. “Let’s try to be NHL for today.”

GW will face-off against the Hoyas for redemption this Saturday at 9:30 p.m. at the St. James.