The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs ended the 2012-13 regular season on a high note, beating the Fort McMurray Oil Barons on back-to-back nights to finish third in the North Division for just the second time in franchise history and the second time in the past three years.
After a short layoff last week, the Pontiacs' playoff run will commence tonight in Bonnyville when the team takes on the sixth-place Drayton Valley Thunder in game one of the best-of-five first round series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Game two goes Wednesday in Bonnyville at 7 p.m. as well, while game three is set for 7:30 on Friday in Drayton Valley. If necessary, game four would be played Saturday in Drayton Valley, with game five scheduled for Monday in Bonnyville.
Pontiacs head coach and general manager Chad Mercier said the 3-2 overtime win and the 2-0 shutout over Fort McMurray on Feb. 26 and 27 to finish in third place was satisfying at the time, but is now already behind the team, as the playoff push begins.
“Of course, it's an accomplishment to finish in the top three for the second time in three years. It's one way to show that the franchise is heading in the right direction, building the right culture and having some of the success we'd like to see,” said Mercier.
“But now our task is to do something no other Pontiacs team has done and that's making it past the second round (of playoffs).
“We were playing our best hockey of the season in February,” said Mercier. “Now the challenge becomes carrying that work ethic into playoffs. All season long we have been working on our consistency and now the real test starts.”
He said with the margin of error so narrow in AJHL, there is no time to take a night off or even a shift off.
“We need our whole team going if we're going to have any success. We've seen over the past month what we are capable of when everyone is coming to the rink prepared and working together, but playoffs are a whole new story.”
Despite the gap in the standings, the Thunder and Pontiacs had very similar stat lines as the season came to a close.
Bonnyville finished with a record of 32-19-9, with 177 goals for and 170 goals against.
Drayton wrapped up the season with a win, giving the team a 30-23-7 record, with 178 goals for and 177 goals against.
The Thunder hold the slight advantage on special team during the regular season, with its powerplay executing on 19.3 per cent of its opportunities and penalty kill holding off the opponent 84.66 per cent of the time, while the Pontiacs powerplay was successful on 18.98 per cent of its chances and the penalty kill running at 82.11 per cent.
Bonnyville has not yet announced its starting goalie for game one, with Mercier saying both goalies Stephen Klein and Tyler Santos are ready and capable of starting in the playoffs.
“It's a good problem to have,” said Mercier. “We split the games up for most of the season to set ourselves up with two capable goalies. It's not an easy decision to make, but it's one we like to have.”
While the team may have a full contingent of goalies on the roster, the forwards are wearing thin, with three 20-year-olds out of the lineup indefinitely with upper body injuries, including the team's top scorer Tanner Dusyk. Forwards Levi Ansell and Max Collins are also out.
Mercier said, despite the challenge that poses, he is confident his players in the lineup can step up and take care of the job at hand.
The Pontiacs presented the 2012-13 team awards prior to last Tuesday's game against the Oil Barons.
Rookie forward Marc Dubeau was named the team's Most Improved Player.
Forward Jackson Dudley was named the team's Most Gentlemanly Player.
Captain Locke Muller was named the team's Top Defensive Forward.
Assistant captain Redford Swan was named the team's top defenceman.
Forward Spencer Foo was named the team's Rookie of the Year.
Defenceman Dallas Mortensen was presented with the team's Matt Cook Unsung Hero Award.
Levi Ansell was presented with the team's President's Award for best representing his team in the community.
Forward Tanner Dusyk was named the team's Most Valuable Player, and also presented with the Three Star Award and the award for leading the team in scoring.
The team's former business manager Janice Sabatier presented the Ma Hebert Award.
