The Bonnyville Pontiacs have proven they won’t go down without a fight.
During their first two home games of the season, they showed their fans they’re ready to play, with back-to-back wins.
Hometown crowd, hometown win
For their first regular season game on home ice, the Pontiacs were relentless.
On Friday, Sept. 21, they refused to let the Sherwood Park Crusaders go home with a win, something Pontiac left-winger Bobby Young said helped drive them to their 4-3 overtime win.
“I think we needed that. We lost to them in our first game on Wednesday (Sept. 19). It was our home opener (Sept. 21), so I knew we would come in firing.”
The Pontiacs were down 3-1 at the end of the first period, with Young to be the first to put the home team on the scoreboard.
Just minutes into the second, the Pontiacs capitalized on a powerplay, with Marc-Antoine Benoit scoring his first goal of the night.
Lucas Thorne would tie-up the game in the final frame, sending the matchup into overtime.
There was less than three minutes on the clock when the Pontiacs would catch a break and score the game-winning goal.
Young said it was their home ice advantage and revenge that fuelled the team’s fire.
“We wanted that win, and everyone came out firing, which is what we needed.”
Sean Thomson, defenceman, said the team started off “a little bit slow” but turned it around for the win.
“It was a nice overall win for the guys at home,” Thomson expressed.
Although head coach Rick Swan wasn’t there in person, he heard about the team’s performance and was proud of their overall gameplay.
“For us to come back with a packed house on our home opener, with so much going on with our new uniforms and brand, you couldn’t have read a better script, because it was entertaining for the fans and great for our team to bring a little bit of adversity,” detailed Swan.
Carrying the drive for a win
The Pontiacs rode their success into the following home game on Sunday, where they were up against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
They polished off the night with a 3-0 shutout.
Thomson said they were picking up where they left off from the previous game.
“It’s always good to get off to a good start to the season, so that (energy) really carried over to today.”
Neither team found the back of the net in the first period, but it wasn’t long into the second before Pontiac Noah Westgate would find the scoreboard.
The first goal of the game would be followed by a second with just over five minutes left in the second, when Benoit would score his second goal of the weekend.
The Pontiacs held their 2-0 lead for most of the third frame, before Pontiac Joel Ray managed to get an empty-netter late in the period.
Young said, “We kept it simple. There were times where we tried to make some plays that were a little too hard, where we tried to go through some guys, but we kept it simple and played well in the defensive zone.”
Swan said even though the team ended the night with a shutout win, there are still a few areas that need work as they get into the regular season.
“I think it’s a constant evolvement of playing within our team structure,” Swan expressed.
He added, what was important was they won as a team, not as individuals.
“At the end of the day, the 3-0 win is two points for us, it elevates us in the standings, and that’s where the challenge is, is the mindset that we have to get our players in. They have to understand that the Pontiacs got two points tonight, not one player got one goal and two assists.”
The Pontiacs will now face-off against the Olds Grizzlys on Thursday, Sept. 27, followed by a matchup against the Calgary Canucks on Friday, Sept. 28.
