The Bonnyville Pontiacs are starting to build momentum after wins in back-to- back divisional games.
The Bonnyville Pontiacs are starting to build momentum after wins in back-to- back divisional games.
One night after avenging a previous loss to the Spruce Grove Saints, the Pontiacs hit the road for a matchup with the rival Lloydminster Bobcats, Saturday, Nov. 4.
The Bonnyville Pontiacs had extra motivation for their matchup with the Spruce Grove Saints on Friday, Nov. 3, at the R.J. Lalonde arena, after dropping a 10-1 decision to the Saints earlier this season.
Brayden Goulet gave the home team the start they were looking for when he scored just 32 seconds into the game.
Undeterred by the early goal, the Saints began to show why they're one of the top teams in the division. Pontiacs' goaltender Sandro Silvestre faced a barrage of shots in the opening frame, but kept the game close.
"We abandoned our structure in the first period, which you will get with a young team. We can't get upset because we know there's work to be done to try and help them learn the structure. Luckily, we had the ace of spades in Silvestre in the net," said head coach Rick Swan.
While the Saints were able to capitalize on two of their opportunities, multiple key saves kept the Pontiacs within one. This allowed Adam Sandstrom to tie the contest heading into the second with a shot from the point.
Despite being heavily outshot again in the second, a combination of stonewalling saves by Silvestre, and an extremely efficient offence, helped the Pontiacs build a lead in the period.
Lucas Thorne notched his first of the season, with an assist from Bobby Young, bringing the score to 3-2. Shortly after, P.J. Marrocco jumped on a rare shorthanded breakaway opportunity extending Bonnyville's lead to 4-2.
"We were really able to make opportunities count and find the back of the net. We had a few nice touches and some really good plays on those goals. That is just what we needed, " said Thorne.
The Pontiacs seemed to find their footing in the third, providing some relief for Silvestre, who had already faced over 30 shots. After the Saints made it 4-3 on the power play, Thorne added his second goal of the night.
The teams would trade one goal each in the third, with Marrocco bringing his score total to 13 so far this season. Despite being heavily outplayed for the majority of the game, the Pontiacs escaped with a 6-4 victory.
"There's a band in Saskatchewan called the Northern Pikes, and they have a song called 'She Ain't Pretty It Just Looks That Way.' The two point lead is the pretty, but that was as ugly a performance as I've seen a team put out," said Swan.
Spurred by the return of Derek Brown, and Marrocco's recent red-hot play, the Pontiacs got off to a quick start in Lloydminster the following night.
Just under four minutes in, Marrocco opened the scoring thanks to a tape-to-tape pass from Brown. Shortly after, Brenden Morrow extended the Pontiac's lead to two.
"We think Brown is one of the best in the AJHL, getting him back doesn't hurt the offence. But, we've been preaching to be a shooting team, we've had a pretty good shooting percentage lately because of the guys who are shooting the puck," said assistant coach Neil Langridge.
Given the start, Pontiac goaltender Justin Travis held things down on the back-end. He stopped four of five shots in the first, helping his team take a 2-1 lead into intermission.
The Bobcats were able to make it 2-2 six minutes into the second, but the tie was short lived as Brown added a goal to his two assists.
He continued his stellar performance later on with a powerplay goal. This brought the score to 4-2 heading into the final frame.
The Pontiac's top scorers would connect again at the top of the period, with Marrocco netting his second of the game thanks to a pass from Brown. Lloydminster would draw one closer before Marrocco put things out of reach with an empty net goal, securing the Pontiacs a 6-3 win.
"I think P.J. and Derek had 10 points between them, that's unheard of at this level. That really tells you how our leaders have impacted our lineup. Guys like them, Charlie Gawlicki, Sandro Silvestre, they've been the ones we've been leaning on when things get tough," explained Langridge.
The team's veteran core will look to continue the momentum, as the same Bobcats will be looking for revenge in their final meeting of the regular season, Tuesday, Nov. 7 at the R.J. Lalonde Arena. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
