Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
INTERNATIONAL BATTLE 鈥� Atom Jr. Mustangs players Huss Breithaupt (19) and Joshua Schenk (16) battle players from the Wasilla-based Alaska Mat-Su Eagles Sunday during the tournament final. The Mustangs won 3-2.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
REASON TO CELEBRATE 鈥� Atom Jr. Mustangs goalie Naoise Dempsey celebrates after his team wins the Whitehorse International Atom Hockey Tournament Sunday.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
PUCK PURSUIT 鈥� Mustangs players Connor Cozens (4) and Jayden Hardie (5) chase the puck alongside members of the Mat-Su Eagles.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
GOAL 鈥� Jayden Hardie, left, and Joshua Schenk celebrate Hardie's goal in the championship game Sunday.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
FIRST OF MANY 鈥� The Atom Jr. Mustangs surround goalie Aiden Power after holding on to win their first tournament.
Photo by VINCE FEDOROFF
GIMME THAT PUCK 鈥� Sasa Jirousek (11) attempts to strip an Eagles player of the puck.
Atom Mustangs strike gold in front of hometown crowd
It took the Atom Jr. Mustangs four games to figure out Wasilla, Alaska's Mat-Su Eagles, but they solved them in the nick of time.
It took the Atom Jr. Mustangs four games to figure out Wasilla, Alaska's Mat-Su Eagles, but they solved them in the nick of time.
After losing three straight to the Eagles in round-robin action this weekend, the youngest Mustangs finally eked out a win in the most important game of the Whitehorse International Atom Hockey Tournament 鈥� the championship final.
Huss Breithaupt provided the heroics, scoring the game-winning goal with less than two minutes left in the contest Sunday afternoon at Takhini Arena.
With the game tied 2-2 late in the third period, Breithaupt went hard to the net, picked up a rebound and found a way to tuck it behind the outstretched Alaskan goaltender to give the Mustangs a lead they would not relinquish.
"The first two games, they were a little stronger in their team play,鈥� said Atom Mustangs and Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association (WMHA) head coach Clint Mylymok.
"The third game they just took it to us ... But we played hard (in the final) and I think that was the first game our kids really learned what competing means.鈥�
The WMHA's inaugural international hockey tournament was everything it was billed to be.
While relatively small in team numbers, British Columbia's Fort Nelson Fury, Alaska's Mat-Su Eagles and the hometown Mustangs provided some excellent hockey for home and visiting fans alike.
In typical Yukon fashion, many people, organizations and businesses pulled together to put on a great weekend.
Parents, little hockey players, guests and fans made Takhini Arena the place to be this weekend.
The nine and 10-year-old players had lots of time to meet the players from out of town and to make some new friends.
The Eagles had dominated the tournament prior to the championship game, putting together an unbeaten record which included beating the Mustangs 1-0, 3-1 and 6-1.
With the Fury going winless, it set up the final showdown between the Eagles and the host Mustangs.
After a scoreless first period, Jayden Hardie opened the scoring for Whitehorse early in the second period. Alaska would knot the game back up before the third period, which saw Landon Marsh's goal again matched by an Eagles' tally shortly after, setting up Breithaupt's heroics.
"The tournament as a whole I thought was pretty seamless,鈥� said Mylymok. "I know Alaska enjoyed the competition with us ... which I think any good team or smart coach looks for when they play tournaments.鈥�
After both Whitehorse and Wasilla beat Fort Nelson by a wide margin, measures were taken 鈥� including the exchange of players 鈥� to help keep the scores closer.
The Atom Mustangs will take their act out-of-town this weekend to participate in the Leduc Adam Myers Memorial Tournament.
Next month, the WMHA will host its annual Hockey Day in Whitehorse and Mustangs Night Dec. 6 to 8.
The weekend extravaganza puts the spotlight on local players, the WMHA and Canada's national pastime with a series of games, events and fund-raisers.
鈥� With files by Stewart Breithaupt
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Comments (3)
Up 12 Down 0
Jeff Woolcott on Nov 13, 2013 at 2:23 am
As head coach of the Mat-Su Eagles I too would also like to say thank you to all of the volunteers who made the Atom tournament possible for our players. We sincerely appreciated the outpouring of hospitality and generosity you showed us during our stay. We look forward to seeing this tournament grow in upcoming years. Congrats to the Whitehorse club for the winning the gold medal, the rep team defended their home turf well, and deserve kudos for the effort they put forth.
-Jeff Woolcott
Head Coach, Mat-Su Eagles
Up 10 Down 0
Tara Houle on Nov 13, 2013 at 12:32 am
Congratulations to all the Atom Mustangs and wishing them the best of luck next week in Leduc. It's nice to hear how the community rallied around this team to put on a terrific tournament. Well done.
Up 23 Down 0
Christina Mulneaux on Nov 12, 2013 at 8:51 am
As the MAHA team manager and a previous tournament director, I would like to give sincere thanks and appreciation to all the hard-working volunteers that put the tournament together. Our team was treated to incredible warmth and hospitality. Your players were phenomenal sportsmen and it touched my heart to see our two teams exchanging hugs in the final hand-shake after the championship game.
Job well done Whitehorse.