The Jr. A Pontiacs welcomed the Spruce Grove Saints to town Tuesday and the teams treated the 550-large weeknight crowd to a captivating contest that ended in heartbreak for the Pontiacs and their fans, as the Saints came out on top 4-3 in overtime. The Pontiacs played another very good game, said head coach Chad Mercier, especially considering Bonnvyille has eight regulars out of the lineup and were facing the number-one team in the league and number-two ranked junior A team in the country. "We did some really good things tonight. But I think we got into some penalty trouble and it took away some of our momentum," Mercier said following the loss. "Ultimately though, we got caught cheating on the goal in the third and in overtime. We can't do that in this league and we learned a lesson tonight and we can take something from that." The Pontiacs continue to net powerplay goals at home, getting two against the Saints, one from Kevin Carthy and the other from Chris Lijdsman. Paul Lamoureux scored the Pontiacs third goal to give Bonnyville a 3-2 lead heading into the third period. But the Saints capitalized as the Pontiacs continued to head to the penalty box, tying the game at three and sending it to O.T. Just over halfway through O.T. the Pontiacs lost a battle at the blue line and the Saints came in on a breakaway. Pontiacs goalie Curtis Honey, who had a good game stopping 28 shots, stopped the initial shot but was plowed over by the Saints player following up on the play, knocking Honey and the puck into the net. Though, initially appearing uncertain, the referee called it a goal and the game ended 4-3. The Pontiacs will be on the road this weekend, taking on the Camrose Kodiaks Friday and the St. Albert Steel Sunday afternoon.
