The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs ended the weekend on a high-note, after defeating the Sherwood Park Crusaders.
The 3-2 road win follows a shootout loss against the Whitecourt Wolverines on Friday, Feb. 9.
Giving it all they've got
It was a close-call for the Pontiacs during their Friday night home game against the Wolverines.
“I thought we played well. Here's a team that is older and they're one of the top three within our division,” said head coach Rick Swan.
The first two-periods worked in Bonnyville's favour, after a goal midway through the first frame by Brendan Morrow.
The Pontiacs carried that momentum into the second regardless of starting the period short-handed, with a goal just three-minutes in by Adam Sandstorm.
An unsportsmanlike conduct call to Adam Panacci resulted in a two-man advantage for the Wolverines, who would capitalize on the opportunity.
Now only down one player, Pontiac Bobby Young would be the next to find the back of the net, scoring an unassisted short-handed goal, bringing the Pontiacs lead up 3-1.
Whitecourt put one more between the posts before the buzzer, something Swan believes their goalie Justin Travis would love to take back.
In the final frame, the Pontiacs goalie would let one more by.
“In the third goal, we lose a guy with our defensive zone coverage by getting puck-focused, and then boom, suddenly we're going into overtime,” Swan explained. “Anything can happen in overtime.”
When the extra five-minutes wielded no results, the game went straight into a shootout where the Wolverines ended the night with a 4-3 win.
Swan said, “It's frustrating because I think we're close, and we're still finding ways that we give opportunities to other teams.”
With less than 10 games left in the regular season, coaching staff have created their own way of pushing the players to perform.
“We're splitting it into two five-game segments, because we know in the first round of playoffs it's a five-game series. The first of three will win that series. Today (Friday) is no different then what we have faced in the past or what these guys are going to face in the playoffs,” Swan explained.
“We lost a heartbreaker tonight.”
Panacci believes the team played a hard game, and agreed with his coach that “it's tough to lose those one-goal games.”
“We played really well, we deserved to win, but it is what it is,” he said.
Pontiacs bring home a win
After a disappointing loss against Whitecourt, the Pontiacs were ready to hit the ice for a match-up against Sherwood Park.
Similar to their game the night before, the Pontiacs were first to find the back of the net, with two goals late in the period.
Young was the first to get one between the posts, followed by Garin Butler.
The Crusaders put their name on the scoreboard with a second period goal, but their success was short-lived.
Panacci accepted a pass from Charlie Gawlicki and ended the night's scoring with a 3-1 final.
The Pontiacs will face off against the Whitecourt Wolverines on Tuesday, Feb. 13, followed by another road game on Wednesday.
Their next game at the R.J. Lalonde Arena is Friday, Feb. 16, where they will go head-to-head against the Sherwood Park Crusaders.
