Chris Clegg
South Peace News

The High Prairie Atom Warriors are going into Provincials this coming weekend at Whitecourt on a high note.

The Warriors won the All Peace Minor Hockey League Atom Tier 3A title March 11 after defeating Fort St. John in the two-game total goal final 11-8. The Warriors won in Fort St. John 5-2 last weekend, the tied 6-6 to win the series.

All that’s left now is to bring home the Atom A Alberta title.

Head coach Jeff Copeland says the team defeated Peace River for the right to play in Whitecourt. They tied the first game of the series 2-2 at home, then won at Peace River 4-3 to win the series 6-5 on total goals.

Copeland says it’s difficult to know exactly what the team will be facing in Whitecourt as they have not played any of the teams. As a result, he says the team will focus on what they do best and try to improve in practice in the last few days leading to the tournament.

“We really work well together as a team. Our passing is strong and we have a lot of fun,” he says.

The biggest facet of the team’s game that concerns him is their penchant for getting off to slow starts, or have lapses in games.

“We will be working on our breakouts and getting our energy up. We always seem to have one bad period.”

However, when the team is playing its best, Copeland says they are “unbeatable”.

“We will just focus on what we do [best],” says Copeland. “We’ll just worry about what we do.”