The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs remain at the top of the standings after two wins and a loss on home ice.
During their match-ups against the Grande Prairie Storm and Whitecourt Wolverines, they wiped out the competition, landing two wins, but fell during their third game against the Okotoks Oilers.
Dominating the Storm
Wednesday, Oct. 24 was the Pontiacs first time back on home ice after a six-game road trip. They kept their winning streak going, defeating the Grande Prairie Storm 6-2.
Marc-Antoine Benoit and newcomer Cayden Kraus were the first to find the scoreboard. They hit the back of the net within the first 10 minutes of game play.
Benoit wasn’t done there, he added another to his stats with a goal at 17:25.
Isaac Saniga and Grayson Constable finished the period off, each scoring with one-minute left in the frame.
Their 5-0 lead wasn’t enough for the local boys.
Bobby Young was determined to add his name to the scoresheet, and was the only player to find the back of the net in the second.
Breaking the Pontiacs’ shutout, Grande Prairie scored their first goal of the night in the final period, followed by their second and last goal of the game.
A win over Whitecourt
The Pontiacs collected another win when the Whitecourt Wolverines came to town Friday, Oct. 26.
In the end, Bonnyville came out on top with a 6-2 victor.
Giving the Pontiacs a head start was Constable, who scored the lone goal of the period at 7:13.
During the second, Jeremy Gervais managed to find the back of the net on a power play.
The Wolverines sought revenge and scored their own power play goal, but their success was short-lived after Pontiac Daine Dubois showed them how it’s done.
Benoit furthered the Pontiacs’ lead, but Whitecourt wasn’t far behind, adding another to the scoreboard during a power play opportunity.
The last 20 minutes of the game was dominated by the home team, with Trey Thomas adding his name to the scoresheet at 11:35.
Dubois capitalized on a power play and scored the final goal of the night.
Pontiacs fall to Oilers
Fresh off of their win, the Pontiacs hoped to keep that momentum when they faced the Okotoks Oilers on Saturday, Oct. 27.
In the end, they couldn’t keep up to the Oilers and lost 4-2.
“We all wanted more, it just took us too long to get going,” Kraus said.
The teams were evenly matched during the first, with neither opponent making it onto the scoreboard.
The Pontiacs started the second period quickly. Ethan Leyer scored within the first two minutes of play.
The Oilers answered by tying up the game, quickly following with two more goals before the buzzer sounded.
The home team seemed to find their stride during the third, with Kraus scoring his first goal of the night at 5:52.
“We didn’t put in a full 60 minutes, and it ended up costing us in the second. We tried to make a push back in the third, but it just didn’t happen,” expressed Constable.
Okotoks solidified their lead in the third frame with one final goal of the night.
Head coach Rick Swan saw the loss as a missed opportunity for the Pontiacs, while allowing other teams in the north division to catch up in the standings.
“Our preparation and their mental investment (lost the game). An example of that is we give them a game plan, tell them ‘this is how we want to execute,’ and they do something different,” Swan explained.
Constable added, “When coach tells us the game plan, he knows what he’s talking about. If we follow that game plan, things will work out. We just need to believe in that.”
The Pontiacs hit the road for their next two games against the Drayton Valley Thunder on Nov. 2 and 3. Their next home game is against Lloydminster Bobcats on Wednesday, Nov. 7. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
