Two first period goals proved to be enough as the visiting Sherwood Park Crusaders defeated the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs 2-1 in an AJHL exhibition game on August 21.
Even though the Pontiacs didn't come out on top, head coach and GM Rick Swan felt it was a tremendous game from an evaluation standpoint.
“We saw some things that we wanted to see. We saw some unexpected surprises out there,” said Swan. “Definitely from an evaluation standpoint, for the staff, it was a great game for a lot of reasons. We saw some kids with a great desire to compete and win and that is really what we want our identity to be.”
Bonnyville struggled out of the gate taking over five minutes to record their first shot on goal.
Once the Pontiacs got their legs under themselves they were able to hold the Crusaders shot-less for over seven minutes. The drought broke when Connor Kortko found the back of the net at 12:23 of the first, giving Sherwood Park a one-goal lead.
The hitting picked up as the period went along, with both teams not afraid to toss the body around.
A late first period power play gave the Crusaders some life, they controlled the zone for about a minute before Romano Morrison found the back of the net with less than 11 seconds left in the period.
Kortko picked up an assist on the goal. He and Morrison finished the game with two points each.
The pace kept up in the second period with neither team giving any ground. The action was back and forth until the final minutes of the period when Pontiacs defenseman and Bonnyville native Brinson Pasichnuk scored on a blast from the point.
“I came out in the slot and couldn't really find anyone. I decided to take a shot on net and sometimes good things happen when you shoot,” said Pasichnuk.
Alex Smith drew the lone assist on the goal, which came at the 2:16 mark of the second period.
The Pontiacs had a ton of chances throughout the game, but struggled to finish. Their best opportunity to tie came in the third period when they had a 5-on-3 power play for 1:28. Bonnyville controlled play for the full minute and a half in the Crusaders end but only managed three shots on goal.
Bonnyville pulled their goalie in the final minute of the period and ended the game with a shot off the post as the final buzzer went.
“I think we played good. We played with a lot of compete,” said Pasichnuk. “We just couldn't finish on the opportunities that we had, but that's going to happen in hockey.”
Swan decided to start a young lineup, dressing 13 players aged 18 or younger. He felt the coaching staff needed to see the young guys in a tougher situation.
“We had a really young lineup and it was a really good test to see how ours guys responded,” said Swan. “Some guys stepped up in a big way, it forced us to reevaluate and look at our options differently.”
Swan reiterated the fact the coaching staff plans on taking the best 25 players into the regular season and that every spot on the team will have to be earned, no one is guaranteed a spot.
“Some of our older guys in here, some of the guys we expected to step up, now we are looking at them in a different light because we have got to have an identity on our team. That's got to be an identity to compete, that's got be an identity to work and that's got to be an identity to grit it out right until the end.”
According to Swan, Bonnyville will have a similar lineup when they travel to Sherwood Park for their next exhibition game on Saturday night. The team will probably dress a few different defenseman for the game, but the majority of veterans will sit out.
“We know we have a heck of a cast in the stands that are looking forward to getting out there and playing, but again we have to make the right decisions on our young guys moving forward and these games are essential for us to be able to do that.”
