The Bonnyville Sr. Pontiacs are the No. 1 senior team in Alberta.
Coming in as the underdogs, the Pontiacs quickly proved they more than deserved their spot in the Sr. AA Provincial Championship. As the host team of the tournament, which ran March 22 to 25 at the R.J. Lalonde Arena, Bonnyville automatically received a spot on the schedule.
Victorious against the Wainwright Rustlers and the Nanton Palominos, the Pontiacs went head-to-head against the wild card team, the Elk Point Elks, in the championship game. After three hard-hitting periods, the Sr. Pontiacs captured the goal medal with a 6-2 win.
"It's a great feeling. We put in a lot of work this season and to come out this way is just a great feeling. I couldn't be prouder of the other 29 guys in that room right now, it took a team to win a championship," said captain Lucas Isley following the win.
Pontiacs defeat Rustlers
In their first game of the tournament, on March 23, the Sr. Pontiacs rallied to a 5-2 win over Wainwright.
The host team got on the scoreboard early on, thanks to a goal from Dallas Desjarlais just over one-minute into the game. While the Rustlers bounced back with a power play goal at the halfway point, it didn't take long for Pontiac Troy Dumais to find the back of the net, regaining Bonnyville's lead.
Tanner Corbeil got the second frame started on a high note for the Pontiacs. At the 11:47 mark in the period, Dumais followed suit with his second goal of the game.
Wainwright capitalized on another power play in the final period to lessen the gap, but it wasn't enough to bounce back. With five minutes left in the game, Pontiac Mike Desjarlais added an extra goal for insurance.
"It was tough because we had a month layover with not being in (the playoffs). With league champions here, we knew every single game was going to be a challenge," said coach Brad Paice. "We were the underdog, we had nothing to lose and everything to gain. We rolled with that and rolled with that momentum right from the start."
Bonnyville beats Nanton to head to gold medal game
In the game that would decide who got a shot at the championship title, Bonnyville got off to a rocky start taking 10 minutes in penalties before the halfway point in the first period.
But, they managed to hold their own on the penalty kill. Off a pass from Corbeil, Isley got the puck past the Nanton netminder to get the Pontiacs on the scoreboard with the lone goal of the period.
Eleven minutes into the second, Bonnyville's Devon Kalinski got his name on the score sheet to bring them up 2-0.
Two goals within two minutes from Mike Desjarlais and Isley in the first half of the third secured a Pontiac victory. While the Palominos managed to end a Bonnyville shutout in the final minute of the game, it was too little too late.
The 4-1 win sent the Pontiacs to the championship match up.
Pontiacs go for gold
It was the two underdogs of the tournament who met in the gold medal game. In front of a packed crowd at the R.J. Lalonde, Bonnyville and Elk Point battled it out for provincial supremacy.
Heading into their final game, the Elks had yet to let a goal in after shutouts against the Daysland Northstars (3-0) and the Lethbridge Lightning (5-0).
The Pontiacs quickly put an end to that streak, with Isley getting the scoring started just over six minutes in, off a pass from Kalinski. Mike Desjarlais brought Bonnyville up 2-0 just before the end of the first.
Isley found the back of the net again shortly into the second period, but the Elks answered just over two minutes later with a goal from Kam Ballas.
The Pontiacs captain, Isley proved why he wears the "C', scoring a shorthanded goal at the seven-minute mark to complete a hat trick.
"It was awesome. I couldn't ask for a better day," Isley said following the game.
While the Elks worked to mount a comeback, with Myles Whitford closing the gap to 4-2, two unanswered goals from Pontiacs Mike Desjarlais in the second and Ty Carey in the third secured a gold medal for the host team.
When asked what was going through his mind following the game, coach Paice had just one word: "excitement."
"I think the key was everyone. Every guy bought in, everyone trusted the process and leaned on each other. I think, overall, everyone just giving everything they've got. And, of course, this crowd; the guys don't get that very often anymore so they loved the big crowd. I think that helped us out a lot."
He added, "It means so much to the organization. It wasn't just about us guys on the ice and on the bench, it was for everyone in the area and all of the support throughout the year. It was a win for everyone."
Despite coming in second, there were no tears shed on the Elk Point bench. Coach Jordon Krankowsky was pleased with how his team played throughout the tournament and to be heading home with the silver medal.
"We came in not really expecting to do a whole lot, and we did a lot more than that. You come in as an underdog and you walk away with a silver medal so heads are held high and we can't complain too much," he expressed. "From start to finish this season, it's a night and day difference. There are no words to even describe how proud I am of the boys and everyone involved."
Taking home the bronze medal was the Nanton Palominos with a 3-2 overtime win versus the Daysland Northstars.
