With impressive shutout victories Friday and Saturday on home ice, the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs have clinched at least third place in the Alberta Junior Hockey League north division, and still have an outside chance at moving up to second.
By finishing in the top three, this team has done something no other Pontiac team has done in the organization's history, while also accomplishing one of the goals head coach Chad Mercier set out at the beginning of the season.
The Pontiacs got to where they are by playing smart playoff style hockey of late. They lost a hard fought battle in Spruce Grove 4-1 Wednesday, but followed that up with two straight 1-0 home wins over the Saints Friday and Grande Prairie Storm Saturday.
“You've got to work and compete, but you've also got to be smart,” said Mercier, following Friday's win. “We did a good job of keeping things to the outside. That's not really our style, we're more of a puck pressure, get after it kind of team. You've got to play different ways and make adjustments to be successful. It's just something else you have in your arsenal.”
Pontiacs goalie Julien Laplante started both weekend games, getting his eighth and ninth shutouts of the season. With the shutout against Lloydminster in his last game on Feb. 5, Laplante has tied the AJHL record with three straight shutouts by a goaltender.
Modest as usual, Laplante was not willing to take all of the credit.
“It's all about the defence,” said Laplante, following Saturday's shutout.
He acknowledged, “Last night was a good night for me,” but explained what his team is doing right in the defensive zone. “I'm seeing everything right now. Rebounds, I can leave anything out there and they'll pick it up and get rid of it. Their sticks are in all the lanes, they are blocking a lot of shots and the forwards are coming back hard.”
Laplante said he couldn't be happier with the way the team is playing in front of him.
Likewise, his team couldn't be happier to have him in net.
“Julien's been playing great,” said forward Eric Peterson after Saturday's win. “We've been good in front of him, but he has been outstanding in net for us.”
Friday's game was all about Laplante, until the dying seconds that is. Laplante came up huge on several occasions, stopping all 30 shots the Saints, the No.1-ranked team in Canada, threw at him.
But it was Dante Borrelli who stole the spotlight with 13 seconds left. The game appeared on its way to overtime, when forward Ryan Kearns rushed down the ice and threw a shot on net.
With just seconds to go Borrelli was able to get a stick on it and jam it in for the remarkable 1-0 win, arguably the team's biggest and most important victory of the season considering playoffs are just around the corner and the Saints are such a formidable opponent.
Borrelli, who was playing his first game back after being out for numerous games due to injury, talked about the game and beating the Saints.
“The first and second periods were tough for me, but I had good linemates who were flying all night, getting pucks deep. They made it easy for me ... It feels good to know that we can beat (the Saints).”
Saturday's game was a little less dramatic, as the Pontiacs carried the play most of the way, allowing only 12 shots through two periods. And when the Storm came on a little late in the game, Laplante was there to shut the door.
The Pontiacs lone goal was an ugly one off the foot of Peterson. Defenceman Donnie Harris let a shot go from the point and Peterson, who was screening in front, got a foot on it, deflecting it in for the winning goal in the middle of the second period.
Laplante did not play in Wednesday's tough loss to the Saints, a game in which the Pontiacs did all they could effort-wise, but could not find the back of the net when they needed to.
Scoring for the Pontiacs was Kevin Carthy, tying the game 1-1 at the start of the second period. It was the third straight game in which Carthy scored a goal.
The Pontiacs really feel like they are playing some of their best hockey of late and are looking to carry some of this momentum into the playoffs.
“As a team, the guys are just coming to the rink, working hard and trying to make a push for this thing,” said Harris, following the win over Grande Prairie. “We're all buying in to what we're trying to do here, and you never know, you might just have to win a couple 1-0 games to get to where we want to be.”
Pontiacs notes
The Pontiacs now sit four points back of Fort McMurray for second in the division. Both teams have three games remaining in the regular season and will face each other in Fort McMurray Wednesday.
The Pontiacs final home game of the season goes Friday at the R.J. Lalonde Arena against Camrose. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Tyler Henry, Marc-Antoine Juneau, Chad Crawford and Jake Towriss all remain out of the lineup with injuries, but all look to return by playoffs.
