The Rankin Rock hockey team defied the odds and successfully defended its Winnipeg Jets Challenge Cup Bantam A1 championship last month in Winnipeg.
The Rock went undefeated (6-0) in the tournament which ran from Dec. 24 to 31, 2019.
Successfully defending the A1 Division title SA国际影视传媒� the top level of A Division hockey SA国际影视传媒� is even more impressive considering the Rock only have three second-year bantams on its roster this season.
Head coach David Clark said this year's team has a group of kids who have played together for a long time and know how to win.
He said, overall, the Rock bantam team is a little on the small side, but the players are very quick on the ice and they are all hard workers who rarely take a shift off.
SA国际影视传媒淚t was our hard work that really separated us from the other teams in the tournament,SA国际影视传媒� said Clark. SA国际影视传媒淢any of the players on our team have been together since atoms, and ever earlier, so it's a tight-knit bunch.SA国际影视传媒�
The Rock now focus its attention on the regional bantam tournament this weekend (Jan. 17 to 19) in Rankin Inlet, but Clark said they're all still enjoying their win in Winnipeg.
He said defending the A1 banner is no easy task and he's proud of the effort his players put-in at the event.
SA国际影视传媒淪uccessfully defending our title in Winnipeg with a lot younger team SA国际影视传媒� and a different kind of team than the previous year to be honest about it SA国际影视传媒� was pretty rewarding.SA国际影视传媒�
Clark didn't have much time to catch his breath before heading back to Winnipeg for the Winnipeg Jets AA Showdown from Jan. 2 to 5 with Nunavut's bantam team in preparation for the upcoming Arctic Winter Games (AWG).
The results were nowhere near the same in the won-loss column, but Clark said the team was in every game but one while trying to find their identity for the AWG.
SA国际影视传媒淲e didn't win a game the whole tournament, but three of the five were one-goal games so we were in the majority of them,SA国际影视传媒� said Clark.
SA国际影视传媒淚t was a chance for us, as coaches, to try a few different things and it was a learning experience for some of our players before the AWG, as well.
SA国际影视传媒淵ou might be fast, able to light it up a bit and take advantage of some of the weaker players in your local league, but this is a whole different level and it doesn't work like that here.
SA国际影视传媒淪ome players hear that being said and stuff but, until you play at this level and experience it, you really don't grasp how much of a step up it really is.
SA国际影视传媒淲e have some really good players on this team and we'll be ready to compete from the first time they drop the puck to the last at the AWG.SA国际影视传媒�
