The Bonnyville Pontiacs are on the upswing after picking up points in three straight games.
The Bonnyville Pontiacs broke their three game losing streak thanks in large part to a strong effort by an inspired P.J. Marrocco.
The Pontiacs needed a win in a big way as they headed into Camrose on Thursday, Oct. 19 for their matchup with the Kodiaks.
Continuing their troubling trend of allowing quick goals to start a period, the Pontiacs gave up the opening tally just 1:34 into the game.
Bonnyville battled hard but were unable to tie it up in the first period, as they took a 1-0 deficit into the locker room.
With his team down in what could be his last AJHL game in Camrose, former Kodiak Marrocco took over the game. With just under 10 minutes left in the Period, Marrocco tied the game on the powerplay, setting him up for third period heroics.
Determined to walk away from his old barn with a victory, Marrocco continued his effort in the third, scoring what would eventually stand as the game winning goal in a 2-1 Pontiacs victory.
“We ended up getting the victory because of outstanding goaltending and an inspirational performance by Marrocco. That was his last regular season game in Camrose, and the fact that he was a former Kodiak, nobody was more inspired than him. He had a really awesome two goal performance,” explained head coach Rick Swan.
For all but three minutes, the Bonnyville Pontiacs outplayed the Calgary Mustangs, but they were unable to seal the deal when it counted.
The Pontiacs faced off against the Mustangs on Saturday, Oct. 21 for the first of two back-to-back games at the R.J. Lalonde Arena.
The first two periods belonged to the Pontiacs as two goals from Marrocco helped the team jump out to a 2-0 lead.
Heading into the third period, it looked like it would be all Pontiacs, but the Mustangs had other ideas. Opening the final frame firing on all cylinders, the Mustangs scored just seven seconds into the period, and again at under three minutes in to tie the game.
“We let up for three minutes and they were able to come back. That's a lesson that we have to learn, we've got to play all 60-minutes,” explained Swan.
The rest of the third and overtime solved nothing, meaning the teams would decide the contest in a shootout. The Pontiacs were unable to solve the Mustangs goaltender and, as a result, fell 3-2.
Despite the loss the Pontiacs picked up an important point, keeping the team moving in a positive direction in the standings after their 4-2 win over the Camrose Kodiaks.
The Pontiacs welcomed the Sherwood Park Crusaders to the R.J. Lalonde Arena for what was their third game in four nights on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2017.
It was the Crusaders who struck first, as defenceman Kole Byrks opened the scoring just 30 seconds into the game. The early tally wasn't enough to shake the Pontiacs, who quickly responded with a goal of their own.
Mason Fischer buried his second goal on home ice and fourth of the season just three-minutes after Sherwood Park opened the scoring, deadlocking the teams at 1-1.
After back and forth play to begin the period, the Pontiacs earned a power play. With the opportunity to take over the game in front of them, the coaching staff drew up a play that worked to perfection.
“We had actually just drawn that up on the bench, so it was nice to go out and execute. We knew that their forward was hanging out high, which left the middle seam wide open. Kirby (Proctor) made a really good pass and I was able to get a shot off. It took a few bounces and went in,” detailed Pontiacs defenceman Riley Smith.
The teams exchanged offensive pressure throughout the second period with the goaltenders making key saves at each end of the ice. With less than two minutes remaining in the period, the Crusaders were given their chance to tie the game when Adam Sandstrom took a cross checking penalty.
Up by one and needing to get back into the locker room with the lead, Pontiacs goaltender Sandro Silvestre stepped up and made three consecutive key saves.
“Our goaltender was our best penalty killer, he was phenomenal tonight. It's unbelievable the momentum you feel as a team when you've got a guy that's able to make those big saves,” said Swan.
Boosted by the play of their goaltender, the Pontiacs extended their lead to 3-1 seven minutes into the third on Smith's second of the night.
With four minutes remaining the Crusaders tried to get something going by pulling their goaltender, allowing Mason Fischer to easily notch his second of the night. Defenceman Adam Sandstrom would later add to the Pontiacs lead, bringing the final score to 5-1 and finishing Bonnyville's win with an exclamation point.
The victory gives the Pontiacs points in their last three contests and moves them one point back of the Crusaders for fifth in the division. The Pontiacs will hope for another 60-minute effort when they head out on the road to take on the Grande Prairie Storm, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017.
“Today we played really well, all four lines were playing well and we had a lot of energy from the bench. We've picked up five out of six points in our last three games here, we're definitely headed in the right direction. We need to keep that energy up and work hard at practice all week,” said Sandstrom.
