Burnaby Minor Atom House Team Makes Remarkable Turnaround

February 10, 2012
Posted in BC Edition, Minor

BY GRAHAM PERKINS /

Every team that struggles to win games during the first half of the season hopes things will turn around as the playoffs get closer, but what has happened to Burnaby’s Atom C4 team over the last few months has been truly remarkable.

The club started the year with 18 straight losses – yes, 18 – through the end of November and were outscored by their opponents a whopping 142–22. Since December, however, the club has gone 7-6-1 while only posting a goal differential of minus-5 over that span. So what prompted the reversal of fortunes?

“I think the kids are finally playing as a team,” said head coach Steve Beemish. “Since the kids got some wins under their belt, they’ve been skating hard.”

One of the areas of the game the team has seen a big improvement in is on the forecheck. The coaching staff preaches a 2-1-1 forecheck, and while systems play isn’t very common in Atom house, the kids have realized that putting pressure on the opposing defence is the easiest way to create turnovers.

“The defenceman in their zone are not Lidstrom,” Beemish said.

Putting pucks to the net has also been big for the kids, and during the second-half they’ve learned to use defencemen as screens and have been quick to pounce on rebounds. Conditioning has also been a big factor, as the team’s extensive dryland training is starting to pay dividends on the ice. The big plays have come from throughout the lineup, and one of the things the coaching staff is proudest of is how well this group has gelled as a unit.

“One of the things we stress is that other teams have two or three superstars, but we have 15. We all hustle as a team and try not to focus on any one person.”

They’re going to need all hands on deck if they want to make a decent playoff run. Things got off to a good start last weekend when they won their first two games against UBC C7 and New West C3. With four other teams in the playoff group, Burnaby will play each team twice and the total number of points will win the group.

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