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Atom Colts end their season with bronze medal at 'AAA' OMHA championship

'We’re done now for another season, but these kids can hold their heads up knowing they played hard and made everyone proud,' says Barrie coach

The 2019 Ontario Minor Hockey Association’s Atom 'AAA' tournament has wrapped up for another season and the hometown Colts weren’t leaving the event without a medal.

The atom squad was eliminated on Saturday from gold-medal contention, but went into the bronze-medal game with a winning mentality and beat out their rival Peterborough Petes, 3-1.

Barrie head coach Todd Larmon told BarrieToday that he and his team were going in wanting a win against a team they have developed a big rivalry with.

“This was the 10th time in a row we’ve played the Petes and beat them, but it is always a tough game,” said Larmon. “They’re a lot like us in that they are big, strong and fast, and play a physical game.”

The atom teams are made up of kids mainly 11-year-olds, but Larmon believes they went into the game with a very mature attitude and he says he's very proud with how the weekend went.

“Obviously, you go in wanting gold, but when that becomes unattainable you have to still stay focused on the task at hand,” he said. “The kids see the news all the time with the pros and Team Canada playing for bronze and I think they realize how important it is to treat the games with the respect they deserve.

"We’re done now for another season," the coach added, "but these kids can hold their heads up knowing they played hard and made everyone proud.”

In the gold-medal game Sunday afternoon, the Clarington Toros defeated the Oakville Rangers and will now head to the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF) tournament and battle other Ontario region’s champions on the weekend of April 12-14.