They’ve suffered a few heartbreaking losses this season, but the Williams Lake Atom Development Timberwolves weren’t going to let another win slip through their fingers.
The T-wolves — on the strength of some game-winning heroics from Jack Henderson and Grady Thomas and some outstanding goaltending from Devin Chapman and Logan Higgs — knocked off the Prince George Atom Development Canucks, 2-1, to win gold at the Prince George Atom Christmas Tournament held in mid-December.
Both T-wolves head coach Owen Thomas and manager D’Arcy Henderson said the final was extremely hard-fought.
“The game was very close and the winning goal was scored in the final minutes,” D’Arcy said.
The goal came when Jack lit the lamp after a hard effort by Grady to get the puck to the net, sending the young T-wolves players into celebration.
“The reason for this team’s success was they played as a team,” Owen said. “It was very good to see. Their best attribute is their work ethic. They put everything into each game and they’re a very talented group of players.”
Owen also pointed to both of the team’s goaltenders — Chapman and Higgs — as having remarkable tournaments with each winning two games.
“They split the games throughout and played very well,” he said.
The tournament featured four Prince George Atom Development teams — the PG Canucks, the PG Oilers, the PG Maple Leafs and the PG Canadiens — and the Quesnel Atom Development team.
The T-Wolves, en route to the final, knocked off the Oilers, 7-2, beat the Canadiens, 9-1 and ran over the Leafs, 7-3.
Next up for the atom development squad is a trip to Enderby from Jan. 6-8 for a tournament. Then, from Feb. 10-12, the team will host its home tournament at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex.