It took nearly five periods of physical, hard-nosed hockey, but the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs finally put game one of its best-of-five first round series with Drayton Valley to bed, winning 3-2 late in the second overtime period.
It took nearly five periods of physical, hard-nosed hockey, but the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs finally put game one of its best-of-five first round series with Drayton Valley to bed, winning 3-2 late in the second overtime period.
Normally the goals would be the highlights, however it was the hits being thrown, led by Pontiacs captain Locke Muller, that had the crowd on its feet.
Just over halfway through the third period Muller lined up an unaware Thunder player in the corner and drove him hard into the boards, drawing the immediate attention of Thunder defenceman Luke Madill.
Despite Madill dropping the gloves, Muller held his composure, and both were limited to roughing penalties - though the Pontiacs bench was assessed a minor penalty for arguing the initial call on Muller.
The Pontiacs killed the penalty and on Muller's next shift, the captain came flying through the neutral zone and crushed another Thunder player, this time smashing the pane of glass near the Pontiacs bench, bringing the both benches and the fans to their feet.
With no scoring in the remainder of the third, the game moved to extra time.
Bonnyville carried the play through both the first and second overtime periods, throwing 22 shots on net, for a total 58 on the night, compared to Drayton's 32.
As time ticked down in the second overtime period, the Pontiacs kept pouring on the pressure, eventually breaking through when defenceman Owen Ferguson made one move at the point and put the shot through a crowd and into the back of the net to take game one.
"It felt amazing," said Ferguson. "We had sort of a rough start but it shows a lot of character to stick with it against a team like that and come out on top."
Pontiacs head coach and general manager Chad Mercier said game one was what he expected it would be.
"That was an absolute grind. Both teams competed hard and battled right to the end and I believe the whole series will be played this way."
The Pontiacs and Thunder go right back at it tonight (March 6) at the RJ Lalonde Arena for game two of the best-of-five series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
