The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs dropped to second in the north division after a win and a loss on home ice last week.
They started off strong against the Grande Prairie Storm with a win, but fell to the Drayton Valley Thunder in a shootout.
Head coach Rick Swan noted some roster changes could have been distracting for the players.
“Those decisions effect people because they’re so close, they’re like brothers. When you move somebody there’s a grieving process,” he said.
Adam Sandstrom and future considerations were traded to the Whitecourt Wolverines for Matthew Monk, while Ty Enns went to the Kindersley Klippers for future considerations.
Pontiacs stop the Storm
The Pontiacs had a 5-2 victory over the Grande Prairie Storm on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at the RJ Lalonde arena.
Joel Ray got the home team onto the scoreboard with the first goal of the night just over 10 minutes in.
Pontiac Lucas Thorne finished the first with a goal of his own, bring Bonnyville’s lead to 2-0.
The Storm managed to get the puck past the Pontiacs for their first point of the game in the second, but Pontiac Cayden Kraus added his name to the scoresheet, bringing the score to 3-1.
Grande Prairie got managed a short-handed goal at the 12-minute mark, what would be their last of the game.
Pontiac Garin Butler added to the team’s lead before the sound of the buzzer.
The last goal the night went to Thorne during a power play in the final period, ending the game 5-2.
Thunder strikes in Bonnyville
When the Drayton Valley Thunder came to town on Saturday the Pontiacs fell 2-1 in a shootout.
“I thought it was a good game,” noted Pontiac Jaden York. “We had a couple of breakdowns, but overall, I think we did pretty good. The work effort was there, the bounces just didn’t go our way.”
The teams were neck-and-neck throughout the first 15 minutes, with neither wanting to give up the first point of the game.
Pontiac Grayson Constable managed to find the back of the net at 15:31. He would be the only Bonnyville player to record a goal during the game.
Less than 10 minutes into the second, Drayton Valley evened the playing the field, scoring a goal of their own.
After a scoreless third period, the game moved into overtime.
Neither the Pontiacs or the Thunder managed to break the tie in the extra time, forcing a shootout.
“We always think with a shootout, you might as well flip a coin. It could be 50/50, and that’s certainly what happened tonight,” Swan recalled.
After the Thunder got their first goal, Pontiac Marc-Antoine Benoit missed his chance to tie it up.
In the end, the win went to the Thunder with a 2-1 final.
The Pontiacs racked up 44 shots on net, something they had been intending all night long.
“We were trying to get pucks on net... Overall, we were just trying to get the energy high to get some intensity out there,” detailed goalie Easton Hesse.
Their next home game is tonight (Tuesday) against the Camrose Kodiaks. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
