The 樱桃视频Eagles Atom Rep team overcame a potentially devastating losing streak to take first place in a regional tournament.
On Dec. 17 and 18, the Eagles travelled to Ridge Meadows to face Lower Mainland teams.
"Leading up to the tournament we'd gone through a rough part of our schedule where we weren't playing very well," said coach Murray Thrower. "We had a lot of kids who were sick."
The boys had been standing at five wins and one loss, but lost their last four games of the season going into the Christmas break.
"But the kids really found a way in the tournament to turn it around and find their winning ways," said Thrower. "It was pretty cool."
The Eagles beat their first opponent of the tournament, Surrey, with a score of 6-2. They then played Langley, beating them 4-2. Then it was a resounding victory over Ridge Meadows with a score of 10-3 followed by a 5-5 tie with Mission.
The Eagles showed just as much focus in the semi finals against New Westminster, a team that had just beat them in league play. But this time the Eagles defeated them 4-0.
The team then faced Mission again in the final and won it 6-2 for the championship.
"We really push work ethic and the kids have really responded to that," said Thrower. "They play for their teammates which is the biggest thing"
One of the team's not-so-secret weapons is its captain Jarid Lukosevicius. Jarid was the team's top scorer with 59 goals and 19 assists in 27 games.
"We have probably one of the best players in B.C. in that team in Jarid Lukosevicius," said Thrower.
But Jarid is not the only high scorer; Malik Kaila, Levi Stuart, Zach Sanderson and Isshin Chiyasu accumulated 58 goals and 98 assists in the last 27 games to bring the Eagles into third place.
The high scorers are backed by the strong forward line of Terry Clark, Kyle Luca and Cody Roberts, and defense Josh Thrower, Graham Raschella, Dylan Auld, and goalie Chase McDougall.
