Mar 28, 2018 | Brian Duke | 1354 views
Minor Atom AA Alliance Champions!!!!!
THE KJR MINOR ATOM AA TEAM CAPTURES THE 2017-2018 ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!
Going back 8 months ago this group of young men started this journey together, with the ultimate goal being to win the Alliance Championship!
Our goal was to build a team on accountability, work ethic and teamwork. We emphasized that if you wanted to be better than other teams that you had to work harder than other teams in practice, at home, and during games. We had a group of boys that did all of these things. These boys worked hard all year, believed in their teammates and never ever quit!
This group of boys went in to playoffs with a 1st round buy that they earned for being 1st in the AA portion of the season. What is even more impressive about finishing 1st with a 11-3-1 record is that we lost the first three games in the AA loop. The boys never quit, they worked harder in everything they did, battled back to go undefeated the rest of the season.
Our first round was vs. London Green who definitely had our number in the beginning of the season beating us the first four times they played us. We bounced back taking 2 of 3 in the AA portion. London was tough and battled hard but we were able to beat London 3-1 in the series and move on to the finals vs. Stratford.
Stratford was another tough series with some overtimes and a lot of one goal games. In the game where we won the Championship we were down 1-0 going in to the 3rd period and the boys were playing like champions but we couldn't get a goal until finally half way through the 3rd when we were able to put one in. Game tied and bench erupted, you could just feel like we were going to get another one and then it happened we scored to go up 2-1. Now we had to hold them for several minutes where we made great defensive plays and our Goalie shut them down!
Buzzer goes sticks, helmets and gloves littered this ice and the boys embraced in the tightest sign of unity you have ever seen!
These boys cared and battled for one another all year but in that final game it was truly something special to see and be part of.
Medals and trophy presentations took place and the boys congratulated Stratford on a hard fought series and thanked their parents for a great season by raising their sticks in the air and saluting them. These boys are all class we can't say enough good things about them!
We went to the dressing room to continue the celebration. The Coaches final message to the boys was when you work hard, you can achieve anything. Eight months of hard work, accountability and teamwork ended with a Championship. Proof for them that if you work hard you can achieve anything.
For me personally I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to Coach these young men. I will truly miss Coaching these boys. The hard work, determination and a never quit attitude was obvious from these group of boys all year
Thank you to the incredible Coaching Staff we had. This Championship and the successful season we had would not be possible without your dedication, hard work and support!
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
2017-2018 Nations Cup Champions!
2017-18 1st place seeded!
2017-18 1st Place AA Regular Season Divisional Champs!
2017-18 Alliance Champions!!
(1.98) Season & Playoff Goals Against
RECORD: 41-17-6