The Niverville Clippers saw three of their Atom teams win their Eastman championship banners over the past week.
The A, B, and C Atom teams all came out on top after sweeping the first two games in all of their best-of-three series.
Atom C, coached by Pat Guenette, won in their semifinal matchup against Beausejour in overtime, pushing them through into the finals, where they faced off against Lac du Bonnet.
“Last [week] we headed out to Lac du Bonnet and stunned them on their ice 6–3,” says Guenette. “[We] tied it at three early in the third, [and] our team took over the pace and finished strong. In game two in Niverville, we jumped out to an early 3–0 lead and never relinquished any part of that game, [winning] 5–2 final.”
Atom A, coached by Eric Cousineau, Jason Hudson & Raymond Dowse, won their semifinal games against La Broquerie in two straight, before going on to defeat Steinbach in the finals. The team won their first game against Steinbach in a blowout score of 6–1 in Niverville, before clinching the championship in game two at Steinbach in double overtime with a score of 8–7.
“I think that the reasons why our team was successful in the playoffs and in the championship series are [their] great team work, dedication, coachable players, good leadership, and most importantly great team chemistry,” says Cousineau. “Our focus in preparing our team throughout the season has been on quick transition in the defensive and neutral zone. We also worked at becoming efficient skaters while carrying the puck and forecheck in the offensive zone.”
“I think the three Atom teams winning the championship shows the great development offered in our minor hockey association and the countless hours of hard work and dedication in practice from our players,” Cousineau says.
Completing the trifecta was Atom B, coached by Jay Roberts, Rick Saurette, and Garett Hildebrandt, won their final against Mitchell in game two with a score of 7–3, after having clinched their first game 2–1.
“Our team did a very good job of neutralizing their threats while focusing on our own strengths,” says Roberts. “Our philosophy all year was to work hard and play smart, and that is exactly what our players did during the playoffs. We limited Mitchell’s chances, and created our own by working hard and playing smart.”
Roberts, who won a junior championship alongside Rick Saurette and Mitchell’s head coach Colin Campbell 18 years ago, used the depth of the Atom B team to pull ahead of the Mitchell, eventually leading to victory.
“Winning a league championship doesn’t come easy, and there aren’t many minor hockey associations that can say they have swept an entire age group the way ours has this season. To be a part of this is extremely special and I am very proud. We are a small community where everyone knows each other. Our kids all go to school together. They are friends. During the winter, they live at the rinks, and although they play at different levels, on different teams, they are all Clippers, and they are champions.”
Of note, the Clippers had a second team in the C division that deserves recognition as well. They placed just behind their winning counterpart, coming up a little short during the playoffs.
