They may be younger, smaller and less experienced, but with tons of speed and a powerful offence, this year's edition of the Whitehorse Mustangs pee wee rep hockey team is still very capable of getting the job done.

They proved that earlier this month, when they travelled to an annual tournament in Dawson Creek and returned home with a 2-1-1 record, which was good enough for third place overall.

'Overwhelmingly, for me, the tournament was excellent,' said head coach Dave Pearson, during practice at Takhini Arena Tuesday evening. 'They did a lot of good things and didn't wilt under pressure.'

'We were, as a team, really pleased with how it went,' added assistant coach Greg Hare. 'It was pretty obvious from the first game that we were completely competitive.'

The first matchup for the Mustangs was against Prince George, and thanks to impressive performances by Gibson Pearson, Brett Roulston and Willy Oulton, Whitehorse prevailed 5-3.

Gibson collected a pair of goals and added a pair of assists while Oulton also potted a pair of goals and Roulston picked up a goal and two helpers. Rylan Bechtel and Michael Hare were each credited with an assist.

In the second game, the Mustangs snuck past host Dawson Creek 6-5. Roulston had a huge game, notching five goals, while Gibson tacked on a goal and an assist. Oulton contributed two assists while Lowell Tait, Jared Worsfold and Matthew Keaton each had one helper.

Fairview (Alberta) was next up on Whitehorse's schedule and the two teams battled it out for a 4-4 tie. Gibson recorded a pair of goals and an assist for the Mustangs while Bechtel and Hare also bulged the twine. Keaton, Oulton, Roulston and Madrick Perreault were awarded assists.

In their final round-robin game, the Mustangs were up against Fort St. John. Unfortunately, they ended up the wrong side of a 5-3 score, and missed a berth in the final game by just one point there were no semifinals, the top two teams after the round-robin advanced to the final.

Hare netted a goal and two assists for Whitehorse in a losing cause while Gibson added a goal and an assist. Roulston also found the back of the net while Rowan Huggard, Rayne Schwinghammer and Jadon Rook each finished with an assist.

'It's pretty good for us to get third in our first tournament together,' said first-year forward Tyson Glass. 'I thought we played pretty good.'

Both Gibson and goaltender Matthew Pollard believed the Mustangs were one of the best teams at the tournament, adding they passed well, shot well and went into the corners. The difference in their final game was that they got tired, said Gibson, and started making mistakes.

'We got caught in our own end,' he stated. 'We need to work on the breakout.'

'We just sort of broke down defensively,' added Pollard.

All three coaches Dave, Greg and Andrew Bechtel would probably agree breakouts are the team's biggest downfall right now. Dave said they just gave the other teams too many chances. But, he added, it's good to find out a flaw like that this early in the season, because then you have more time to work on it.

'The first tournament is always when you judge where the team is at. They're just learning how to compete, learning about what they're going to be faced with.'

For the first-year pee wees, Dawson Creek marked the first time they took full body checks at a tournament, something which was tough to get used to, admitted Glass.

'We got bumped around a little bit, because we're not quite used to the body contact,' agreed Roulston, a second-year forward. 'But I thought we did well.'

Pollard, who is playing his first year of rep hockey, said it was a 'pretty big eye opener' to see how many hits other teams were throwing.

Both coaches pointed out the other teams at the tournament are playing about 12 league games a season, as well as more tournaments, so they have a lot more experience with hitting than Whitehorse players do.

It's something that's difficult for the Mustangs to practice, since body checking is not allowed in house league games, but Greg expects everyone on the team will get used to it fairly quickly.

Greg also hopes to improve the team's powerplay before they head out to their next tournament. Referees are calling a lot more now, because of new rules added this year, so an effective powerplay can be the difference between winning a game and losing a game.

Of course, that means a good penalty kill is also imperative, especially if the Mustangs keep taking as many penalties as they did in Dawson Creek, pointed out Gibson.

'I had a few,' he grinned. 'I think more than a few. But we were able to play through the penalties.

'The goalies played unbelievably well.'

Goaltending was just one of the team's strong points, as well as good fore-checking and strong passing.

'Our fore-checking is spectacular,' stated Dave. 'We've got a lot of heart and a lot of passion.

'There are some guys on this team with very good shots, uncharacteristically good for the pee wee level.'

Roulston's offensive skill made him the talk of his teammates Tuesday, who were pleasantly surprised and impressed when he ended up tied with Gibson for first place in team scoring at 10 points.

'Just his speed, he doesn't stop,' said defenceman Matthew McCarthy. 'In one game, he scored five goals.'

'His feet just don't stop moving,' added Glass.

The strong leadership of defenceman Rylan Bechtel was also key in the Mustangs' success, Dave pointed out.

Goalie Patrick Soprovich said they all had good spirit and good communication.

'This tournament is always great for our team to go down to,' the head coach summed up. 'We were treated excellent by everyone in Dawson Creek. They really appreciate us coming down there and we get the experience.

'The kids came back with big smiles on their faces.'

While both the bantam and midget Mustangs will be in action in Whitehorse this weekend, taking on teams from Tok and Fairbanks, Alaska, as well as the Northwest Territories, the pee wees will be watching from the sidelines.

Their next tournament will likely be in January, although the location and date have yet to be finalized.