From a team standpoint, three ultra-competitive outings was more than enough of a reason for the Copper Cliff Atom "AA" Reds to celebrate their appearance at the 62nd Annual Preston International Hockey Tournament last weekend in Cambridge.

The all-star game, on the side, however, is where Copper Cliff talent shines even more.

The round-robin schedule for the Reds included ties against both the Northumberland Nighthawks (1-1) and the Ajax Knights, with the team dropping a 2-0 decision in game three to the London Jr Knights.

And while the Copper Cliff youngsters kept things close, for a while, in their quarter-final affair, eventually running out of steam against the North Durham Warriors (the same team that would eliminate the Sudbury Atom "AA" Wolves in the semi-finals), Reds representation again rose to the challenge in the all-star festivities.

For the second straight year, a skater donning the Copper Cliff emblem would be named as game MVP of the all-star affair, with Johnathon Tripodi following in the footsteps of 2019 MVP Reid Bombardieri.

"While we were disappointed with the outcome, we were pleased with the process," noted Reds' coach Andrew Dale. "The players have been working hard to improve their game, both as a team and individually. We saw that our kids could compete and raise their game to play with great teams in the province."

The 2019-2020 edition of the Copper Cliff Atom "AA" Reds brings together Logan Moran, Ryan Corrigan, Nolan Larche, Harrison Markiewich, Grady Dale, Alex Wierzbicki, Alexa Labrecque, Josh Bell, Zachary Arsenault, Reid Bombardieri, Landen Creasey, Nick Alexander, Connor Paris, Cole Pastre, Jonathon Tripodi, Hudson Teddy, Pierce Mills and Brady Toulouse.