The Whitehorse Atom Mustangs moved the puck and skated.

It's a simple formula.

But thanks to doing the basics well, the Mustangs knocked off Cinderwood 8-2 in the peewee finals of the Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association year end tournament held at the Canada Games Centre and Takhini Arena over the weekend.

"The kids did exactly what we wanted; we move the puck well, we skate well,” Mustangs head coach Mike L'Henaff said.

"The way that they move the puck, and with our skating, it's pretty hard for these teams. They don't play as much together. We just came off of a high-intensity tournament as well.”

Mustangs forwards Joe Stokes and Bryce Anderson each had a hat trick in the finals on Sunday. Teammate Lukas Jirousek notched a goal of his own and three assists, while Dylan Cozens had three helpers of his own.

L'Henaff said the goal scorers get most of the credit, but guys like Niall Lawrie and Trenton Hope have stepped up throughout the year.

"Those two guys started the year, they never played defense before. They're not

defensemen…They've gone back, and they're top-end defensemen on any atom team. I'd be surprised if one if not both of them don't make the Peewee Mustangs next year as defensemen,” L'Henaff said.

"They're just really good all-around athletes. We just identified them at the start of the year, and said, ‘Lets put these two guys back, they're big, strong kids.'”

Such versatility – having a number of two-way players – is likely the envy of just about any minor hockey league coach.

Garen L'Henaff moved up to forward in the final because Johnny Elias was injured, for instance.

"And we didn't miss a beat really with him up front,” Mike L'Henaff said. "It makes it easy when there's injuries and penalties.”

That versatility paid dividends.

The Mustangs went undefeated in their five games throughout the tournament.

They finished top of the peewee league.

And they've just won gold medals in back-to-back tournaments Outside.

"It all goes back to the kids,” Mike said. "We set out a game plan at the start of the year and I think we've achieved it. We've gotten a lot of kids that have stepped up their game and improved dramatically.”

He added that maintaining intensity against weaker teams can be challenging in itself.

"That's one of the big surprises...that we're able to keep them focused and still maintain the high level of competition on the kids. And we pushed them, we pushed them all year, we weren't satisfied with a six-goal lead, we wanted a seven- and eight-goal lead. Some people might think that's unsportsmanlike, but it might be the one and only chance that these kids play on the championship team, so why hinder them?

"We went into a tournament in Grande Prairie this year, and that was the only reason we were able to compete. We beat Grande Prairie and they're the 16th-ranked team in Alberta for Atom. We've had a really good year.”