The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs made franchise history this past weekend, knocking off the Lloydminster Bobcats in six games to advance to its first-ever AJHL north division championship series.
The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs made franchise history this past weekend, knocking off the Lloydminster Bobcats in six games to advance to its first-ever AJHL north division championship series.
While two editorials in as many weeks focusing solely on hockey may seem a little bit like overkill, the sheer passion and outpour of support from our local community, and the absolute grit and desire to win from the Pontiacs deserves some recognition.
Sunday night at the RJ Lalonde Arena was a special occasion - a momentous one. Over the course of the past few months, our Jr. A Pontiacs, thanks in large part to the work of head coach Rick Swan, associate coach Larry Draper and assistant Mark Jensen, have quietly transformed themselves from AJHL also-rans to championship contenders. And boy did has that shown over the course of this latest playoff series.
In adding pieces such as mammoth goaltender Troy Trombley, hard-hitting defenceman Cody Fiala and one of the league's best two-way forwards in Evan Warmington to go along with an already impressive array of young talent that includes the likes of Steenn Pasichnuk, Ryan Black and Kyler Hehn, Swan has done a fantastic job in transforming this sleeping giant of an organization.
This recent series with the Bobcats though has proven without a doubt though that the Pontiacs best weapon is the community itself. With a record-breaking crowd of 2,030 cheering on the hometown team, the Pontiacs had absolutely everything they needed to advance to a first-ever north division championship series.
Kudos to the community for going above and beyond to support our local team. Kudos to the coaching staff for assembling a team with enough character and quality to make an extended playoff run, and finally kudos to all the players for leaving absolutely everything they had on the ice.
Regardless of the outcome this weekend, Sunday's game against Lloydminster proved without a shadow of a doubt that Bonnyville is right up there alongside the best hockey communities in Canada.
