By Michael Yahn /
Atom
The future is bright for the Langley Minor Hockey Association as the next few years will see some great Atom players move up through the various levels of hockey. One of this year’s teams that will definitely feed other teams strong players down the line is the AAA Atom Eagles.
The Eagles, described by Head Coach Mike Grant as, “probably the most accomplished Atom AAA team in Langley history,” have been nothing short of amazing this season. They dominated their regular season, going 16-1-1 with 80 goals and just 27 against and were unstoppable winning the Las Vegas Silver Stick Tournament in December and the Abbotsford Tournament that same month.
After knocking out Surrey A1 in the four-point series with two straight wins, they headed to their Final Four with one thing on their mind – capping off a stellar season with a playoff banner. They started out the Final Four with a hard-fought 5-1 win over Coquitlam then equaled the effort against a tough Ridge Meadows club again 5-1. That set up the clinching game against Chilliwack who were 9-6-3 in the regular season and playing well in the post-season. The Eagles came out flying and dominated the game start to finish 6-2 to take the banner.
The Atom LY6 team played the Westside Tournament this past weekend. Coach Darren Robinson said the team had a blast at this year’s tournament. They won two and lost two games through the weekend. Meanwhile the LY7 team was knocked out of the North Delta Tournament this past week in the semi-final game. Head Coach Rick McKissock was not happy with some of the detrimental calls made through the game that cost the team dearly.
“It’s hard to explain to ten-year-olds why they didn’t win the game. We should have been playing for the championship.”
They will head to the Bremberton Tournament and the Langley Cup before wrapping up their season.
The LY8 team won their playoff banner, going 4-1 in the championship round in the green group. In the purple group, the LY2’s took it all with an undefeated playoff round 5-0 scoring 36 and allowing just 10 against.
The LY5 team narrowly took the red group banner with a 5-0 record that matched LY1’s but LY5 won based on two sportsmanship points.
The LY3s also took their playoff banner home with a 4-1 record in the yellow group.
It was a very successful run for many Langley Atom teams.
Peewee
With all three Rep teams knocked out of the post-season early, it was up to the C teams to take home some hardware.
The LY2 team narrowly missed claiming their playoff banner in the yellow group. They finished tied with South Delta C1 at 4-1 but lost the banner by one sportsmanship point. Their only loss was to South Delta, 5-3 in their final playoff game.
The LY8 team sits third in their playoff round just two points out of first but are out with no games remaining in the green group but LY3 is still in the hunt – they are 2-0-1 and two more wins would win them the crown. One of those games is against the 4-0 Cloverdale C7s who sit in second place behind the 4-0-1 Semiahmoo C6s. The Semiahmoo team has only three of a possible five sportsmanship points so if the LY3s can win two and keep out of the penalty box doing it they can win it all.
Bantam
The playoffs have been a wild one for the Bantam division this year – many teams have fared well through a very stretched out schedule. Many of the teams looked very good late in the regular season and the improvements through the year showed in their playoff runs.
The LY7 team took the playoff banner this year in the blue group – a very tough group of Bantam C teams. They went 4-0-1 in the playoff round with a group-best 32 goals with just eight against.
The LY5 team also took their playoff banner in the red group going undefeated in five games. They faced the North Delta C2s in their final game which turned out to be the battle for the banner and won 3-2 to take it all.
The LY4s are another team going home with a playoff banner with a 4-1 record to take the yellow group title.
The Bantam AAA Eagles are in to their Final Four and after two games, sit 0-1-1 with a close 2-1 loss to North Shore Winter Club A1s and a 3-3 tie with the Burnaby Winter Club A1 team. With just one game to go versus Hollyburn, they cannot win the banner as North Shore already has four points. The A2s also made their Final Four but finished 1-2.
Midget
The Midget AAA Eagles were the only Langley Midget rep team to make their Final Four and are just one game in – a stinging 6-2 loss to the Richmond A1s in a chippy, penalty-filled game. Their final two games will be against Seafair and Ridge Meadows.
The LY5s are playoff champions in the green group with a perfect 5-0 record.
The LY7 team finished behind them at 3-1-1.
The LY3s won the purple group banner with a 4-1 record beating Cloverdale C6 4-3 in their final game in what turned out to be the deciding game.
Despite a perfect 5-0 record, the LY2 team was unable to pull out the championship, getting just one sportsmanship point in five games and losing to the South Delta C6 team who went 4-1.
The LY2s scored 35 goals with just eight against to dominate the playoff round but their massive 173 minutes in penalties – which included five 10-minute misconducts and three 15-minute fighting majors that sunk them in the end.
Juvenile
It’s off to the races for the Juvenile AAA Eagles in the Gold Group Final Four. The team that took no prisoners all year is making the same statement in this year’s playoffs with a 2-0 record already with a 6-2 win over Seafair and a 4-2 win over North Delta. The big game is yet to be played however as the final game sees the Eagles face the other dominating team this year, the Cloverdale A1’s who are also 2-0 in the Final Four (as of press time). It’s winner take all in the final game of the playoffs. |