South Okanagan Atom Development Team win Bronze2010-03-05
This past weekend, the SO Scorpions hosted the Atom Development playoffs finishing third.
This past weekend the South Okanagan Atom Development Scorpions hosted the 17 team playoff championship. The local team entered the tournament as the number six seed. The team started off the tournament with a match up against the Kelowna Blackhawks, the third seeded team. The Scorpions came out slow and nervous and were not able to find their stride and Kelowna cruised to 9-3 victory. This was a tough loss but the coaching staff hoped that the team learned a valuable lesson that they need to come to play a full game to defeat the teams from the larger centers. In the second game the team faced their rivals from Merritt. Merritt was just what South Okanagan needed as the boys played and inspired game and opened an early lead which they never relinquished, winning 9-6. Mathew Wilson was awarded the game MVP for his inspired play. South Okanagan now faced the Vernon Wolfpack, the top team from Vernon. The Wolfpack defeated South Okanagan convincingly earlier in the season. This was the perfect time to see if the team had learned their lesson from the opening game. The scorpions played an inspired hard working game defeating Merritt 3-2 sending the Scorpions to the semi finals. Evan Poelera was awarded the game MVP for his complete game performance. In the semi final the team faced the Kelowna Spartans, the top ranked team in the tournament. The game was close for the first 40 minutes but the scorpions ran out of gas falling to the eventual tournament Champions 6-2. Kanver Brar received the game MVP for his relentless defense. In the Bronze medal game on Sunday the Scorpions once again faced the Kelowna Blackhawks. However, this was a different team then the one the Blackhawks faced two days earlier. The scorpions worked hard and entered the third period with a deserving 4 to1 lead. In the third period the South Okanagan team found themselves short handed for eight of the final twelve minutes, much of it two men down. With less then five to go, the Blackhawks were able to score three powerplay goals to make the score 5-4. The scorpions were able to kill off the final penalty and hold on to capture the Bronze, proving the team learned from their earlier tournament defeat. The game MVP performance award went to Tyler Loura for his impressive goaltending especially in the last ten minutes of the game as the team fought off the surging Kelowna team. After the game Jordan Schulting received the OMAHA season MVP award. The Scorpions third place finish is the highest finish for a South Okanagan team in a long time. The teams performance is even more impressive when you consider that this is not a tiered division. The scorpions showed that when they play the way they are capable, they truly are one of the top Atom Development teams in the Okanagan
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