麻豆社区

The Atom Jr. Mustangs' penalty troubles cost them a shot at their second consecutive tournament championship in Leduc, Alta. over the weekend, coach Clint Mylymok said.

The young hockey club that led the Leduc Adam Myers Memorial Tournament in penalty minutes came home with a bronze medal, rather than the coveted gold.

"I feel like we should've been in the championship and we didn't get there,鈥� Mylymok told the Star.

"You want to let the kids know 鈥楬ey, it's nice to win our last game, but we'd rather it be in the final,' and that's kind of the expectations you want to set as a program.鈥�

Regardless, Mylymok said he was proud of the way the club handled the new experience of an out-of-town tournament, which included restaurant meals, staying in a hotel and taking in a WHL鈥圗dmonton Oil Kings game.

"It was the whole dynamic of what it's like to go out on the road,鈥� he said. "For these kids, I think it was an eye-opening experience.鈥�

After landing in Edmonton Friday, the Mustangs rushed off to the rink to play their first two games.

Whitehorse beat Fort Saskatchewan 3-1, but racked up more than 10 penalties en route to dropping their second game 10-4 to eventual champions Fort St. John.

Defenceman Connor Cozens and goalie Naoise Dempsey won player of the game honours for their efforts.

On Saturday, the Mustangs faced the host team and tied 2-2. Right-winger Joshua Schenk scored shorthanded and won player of the game.

The club squared off with Leduc again for bronze on Sunday, and this time won 5-2 thanks to a hat trick effort from left-winger Ty Beacon.

"We got into a lot of penalty trouble,鈥� said co-coach Patrice Brunet. "It's kind of the first time this year that we ran into this problem. We led the tournament in penalty minutes ... and PIM鈥坵as considered in the rankings.

"If we would have won our third game, we would have had a better record to make the A final, but we still would have gone to the B because of the penalty minutes.鈥�