A pair of weekend victories over the Lloydminster Border Kings and Big Valley Oil Kings has extended the Bonnyville Sr. Pontiacs winning streak to 11 games.
“There is a lot of confidence in (our dressing) room that is for sure. We show up to the rink and every game we feel that we are going to win,” said Bonnyville Captain Logan Isley. “I think that is why we are sitting first.”
Isley and the Pontiacs welcomed in third place Lloydminster on Friday night and walked away with a convincing 6-1 win.
Consistency was the story for the home team on this night as the Sr. Pontiacs scored two goals in each period en route to their 12th win of the season.
Six different Pontiacs netted goals in the victory, with Tyler Kress, Levi Ansell, Mark Jensen, Ty Carey, Lucas Isley and Niko Bourget all tickling the twine.
“Our biggest challenge is playing at a high level on a consistent basis and it is something that this team continues to work and strive for,” said Bonnyville coach Chad Mercier. “When the guys lose that consistency they are sure accountable to each other to try and get that consistency back.”
The fourth place Oil Kings strolled into the RJ Lalonde Arena on Saturday night and proved to be quite the test for the home side.
The game was just like the last time the two squads met in Bonnyville, a game in which the Sr. Pontiacs needed overtime to win 3-2.
This time both teams came ready to play and Big Valley did all they could to match the Pontiacs goal for goal. Eventually it was the Pontiacs coming out on top by a score of 6-4.
The first period ended 2-2 with Bonnyville scoring and Big Valley matching on two separate occasions.
“They have got a strong team. When they have a full lineup it is going to be a good battle,” said Isley. “I thought the guys played well. It was a good team game. We focused on the defense and were able to come out on top.”
Under two minutes into the second period, Michael Desjarlais scored his second of the day to break a 2-2 tie.
Five minutes later, with Desjarlais in the box for tripping, the visitors were once again able to even the score. Travis Dunstall converted on a nice pass from Jared Williams and the game was knotted at three.
The tie was short-lived though. Just eleven seconds later Ty Carey tipped a Lucas Isley pass past Big Valley netminder Chance Clark to restore the Bonnyville lead.
Carey and Isley connected again exactly one minute later giving the Sr. Pontiacs their first two goal lead of the afternoon.
Although Big Valley was handed five powerplays in the final 20 minutes of play they couldn't muster the comeback. The teams traded goals in the final frame and Bonnyville came out with the 6-4 win.
“I thought it was a good game for us in the sense that it was a tight game where we had to battle some adversity,” said Mercier. “There have been some games where the score has been a little lopsided and we haven't had to fight that adversity. I don't care what level you play, you need to see some adversity and you need to be able to respond to some adversity. I thought the response to the adversity was tremendous.”
Bonnyville will finish their season with a pair of games in Big Valley this coming weekend. The Sr. Pontiacs sit in first place, two points up on Tofield with a game in hand.
With a victory the Pontiacs will clinch first place in the Battle River Hockey League.
“It is not going to be an easy task. It doesn't matter what league you are playing in finishing first isn't an easy task,” said Mercier. “It is going to be a great weekend heading into the playoffs because we are going to have to play playoff hockey there to be able to lock it up. It is going to be a great test.”
