The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs struggled to find their footing against the Spruce Grove Saints.
The Pontiacs fell to the Saints on home ice on Friday, and when they entered enemy territory the following night they met the same fate.
“More than anything, our guys have an opportunity here to self-reflect and self-evaluate themselves on where they are against one of the best teams, not only in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), but one of the best teams in the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL),” noted head coach Rick Swan. “I think that Spruce Grove have been coached right, they bring in players that buy into their structure, and they buy into playing the right way. We’re still evolving as a team, and we’re challenging our guys to create some accountability within their own game.”
Tough loss for the Pontiacs
The Pontiacs went down fighting in a 4-1 loss against Spruce Grove on Friday, Oct. 18.
The visiting Saints dominated the first frame, sneaking the puck past the Pontiacs’ goalie twice before the end of the period.
Pontiacs centreman Chayce Schmidt noted it didn’t start off in their favour due to penalties for Marc Benoit for roughing and Jaden York for boarding.
“It was a rough penalty kill, but then we kind of picked up. We got physical, good in our own zone, and then we just kind of slowed down after that,” Schmidt detailed.
Although the teams were evenly matched for a majority of the second, the Saints found the back of the net to bring their lead 3-0.
Bonnyville came out of the locker room determined to find success in the third.
They landed their first point of the night less than four minutes in thanks to Jeremy Gervais.
“We proved to ourselves and everybody in that building that we can outwork them and play with them. I thought it was a really good goal,” expressed Pontiac defencemen A.J. Macaulay.
Swan agreed.
“In the third, we competed a bit, but the reason with that is because we played with some emotion and this game is all about emotion. Spruce Grove had lots of swagger in their game, and we didn’t get it until the third period.”
The final goal of the evening went to Spruce Grove, which solidified their 4-1 victory over the home team.
Saints sweep the Pontiacs
The 7-2 win for the Saints wasn’t the outcome the Pontiacs were hoping for when they faced off at the Grant Fuhr Arena on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Spruce Grove took the lead early in the first with two goals, followed by the Pontiacs first of the night from Daine Dubois.
The last point before the buzzer went to the Saints, giving them a 3-1 lead.
Heading into the final frame with a score of 4-1, Spruce Grove found the back of the net once again before Pontiac Lucas Thorne capitalized on a powerplay.
Unfortunately for Bonnyville, it was too little, too late, as the Saints walked away with a 7-2 win.
Although the Pontiacs struggled during their weekend matchups, Swan is glad the team has time to evaluate where they went wrong in order to correct themselves for the season.
“We just have to grow from it, because last year we had a 41-win season, but we got into playoffs and it was an entirely different season. I’d rather go through these learning and growing pains now. I’d rather challenge our bottom six forwards to be better, and take control of the opportunity in October, than in March, for us to be overwhelmed because we’re not there,” he detailed. “This year, we wanted to learn about the adversity that’s required to play, because in the playoffs, when we hit adversity, we can’t get overwhelmed and we can’t allow it to disseminate from what we’re trying to do.”
The Pontiacs next home game is against the Grande Prairie Storm on Saturday, Oct. 26. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
