by JASON NASH
From February 19-21 teams from Alberta and Northern BC attended the annual Valemount Minor Hockey Association Atom Tournament. There were eight teams in total: Prince George Blizzard, Prince George Lightning, Prince George Vipers, Williams Lake Blue Bandits, Fraser Lake Hawks, Hinton Atomic Bombs, Leduc Roughnecks, and the host team Valemount Wildcats. The tournament was designed to recognize the varied abilities of all teams, with two pools completing round robins to determine cross over opponents. No teams were eliminated after the round robin, rather four teams were ranked to playoff for the A Championship, and the remaining four ranked to playoff for a B Championship.
At the end of round robin play the Fraser Lake Hawks defeated the Williams Lake Blue Bandits 7-3 to advance to the A Championship where they met the Prince George Vipers who defeated the Hinton Atomic Bombs 7-2. Meanwhile in the B Championship crossover games the Prince George Blizzard defeated the Prince George Lightning 6-1 to advance and face the Leduc Roughnecks who defeated the Valemount Wildcats 7-2.
On Sunday afternoon there were many in attendance to watch the championship games. The A Championship game did not disappoint and fans were treated to an exciting finish. In the end it was the Fraser Lake Hawks winning by a score of 4-3 over the Prince George Vipers to be crowned the A Champions.
While in the B Championship between the Leduc Roughnecks and Prince George Blizzard the lead exchanged a couple of times heading down to the final seconds with the score tied 4-4. With only 16 seconds remaining on the clock Leduc Roughnecks scored in dramatic fashion to take the B Championship.
This past weekend was a testament to the great hospitality provided by the Village of Valemount, the Valemount Minor Hockey Association, and many volunteers, including parent volunteers of the Valemount Atom Wildcats. During and after the tournament several positive comments were received from those visiting our beautiful community and commended those involved for a wonderful tournament and its near flawless execution. The Valemount Atom Wildcats would like to personally thank the parents for their contribution this past weekend, and leading up too. Without their hard work and dedication an event like this would not be possible.
Results:
Friday February 19th
Hinton Atomic Bombs 5 vs. Valemount Wildcats 0
P.G. Vipers 6 vs. P.G. Lightning 1
P.G. Blizzard 0 vs.Fraser Lake Hawks 5
Saturday February 20th
Williams Lake Blue Bandits 7 vs. P.G.Lightning 2
P.G. Vipers 7 vs. Leduc Roughnecks 2
Valemount Wildcats 1 vs. Fraser Lake Hawks 6
P.G. Blizzard 2 vs. Hinton Atomic Bombs 2
P.G. Lightning 0 vs. Leduc Roughnecks 5
Williams Lake Blue Bandits 4 vs. P.G. Vipers 4
Fraser Lake Hawks 5 vs. Hinton Atomic Bombs 3
Valemount Wildcats 1 vs. P.G. Blizzard 4
Leduc Roughnecks 5 vs. Williams Lake Blue Bandits 9
Sunday February 21st
A Crossover Results
Fraser Lake Hawks 7 vs. Williams Lake Blue Bandits 3 P.G. Vipers 7 vs. Hinton Atomic Bombs 2
B Crossover Results
P.G. Blizzard 6 vs. P.G. Lightning 1
Leduc Roughnecks 7 vs. Valemount Wildcats 2
A Championship
Fraser Lake Hawks 4 vs. P.G. Vipers 3
B Championship
P.G. Blizzard 4 vs. Leduc Roughnecks 5
