It’s been a long year of hard work, but it’s all paying off for the young hockey players with the Crowsnest Pass Atom Thunder. The team earned a place in the Atom C Division provincial hockey tournament, as the top C Division Atom team in southern Alberta, and on Thursday, March 18, they left for Viking, Alberta, to represent the Crowsnest Pass.
Rob Evans, who filled in as an assistant coach for the provincial tournament, says that the team struggled at the beginning of the year. “About midway they started to gel,” he says. “They rose to the challenge when provincials started. They started working as a team.”
The Atom Thunder played some of their best hockey during the provincial qualifiers, defeating four other good teams in southern Alberta to be declared Zone Five champions.
The provincial tournament was scheduled to take place in Viking from March 19-21, and results were not yet available as of this issue’s deadline. A total of seven different zone champions plus the host team take part in the provincial tournament.
“It’s going to be a tough competition,” says Evans. “If they try their best, that’s all we can ask for.”
Evans adds that the players were all very excited at this unique opportunity. “I know my boy couldn’t sleep last night,” he says. “It could be a once in a lifetime thing. They’ll remember this forever.”