BONNYVILLE – It has been an interesting start to 2023 for the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs, following the first game of the new year that saw three Pontiacs players and the head coach receive multiple game suspensions.
Travelling to Fort McMurray to take on the Oil Barons on New Year's Day, tensions boiled over just seconds before the final buzzer sounded in a match that would see the Pontiacs lose 3-1.
With 19 seconds left on the clock, Pontiacs’ rookie Max Seguin found himself in the initial brawl that quickly grew out of control on the ice. Bonnyville players also drawn into a scuffle included Nicolas Beaudoin, Travis Baker and Ludovik Tardif.
Pontiacs’ head coach Mario Pouliot also found himself in hot water after starting a verbal confrontation directed toward the Barons’ head coach Adam Manah.
The Alberta Junior Hockey League handed out over 30 game suspensions combined, following the Jan. 1 match.
Pouliot received a three-game suspension, while defensemen Baker received a seven-game suspension. Pontiac defenseman Jack Budd also received a three-game suspension related to a hit to the head that occurred earlier in the same game.
According to Neil Langridge, the team’s associate general manager, the number of games Nicolas Beaudoin will be suspended has not yet been confirmed by the league.
A total of 204 penalty minutes were racked up by both teams.
With two of the Pontiacs’ top defensemen out and the coach, the fallout of the game has had serious ripple effects for the Jr. A team.
“Leading into the Christmas break, we were pretty happy with where things were. We came back with two big wins against Lloydminster... then we got into some suspension trouble,” Langridge told Lakeland This Week, after Saturday’s 5-0 loss against the Brooks Bandits.
“Any suspension is always tough to swallow, but especially when you get to seven games like what Travis Baker received.”
Adding salt to the wound, one of the Pontiacs’ top scorers, Cole Hipkin, suffered a lower-body injury during Friday night’s home game against the Canmore Eagles. The Pontiacs would go on to lose 4-2.
“It's just been a tough week overall,” acknowledged Langridge. “The game of hockey throws you curveballs all the time, so all the players need to know where to play at all times. If they're playing on the top line, the second, third, fourth line, they're all great players on our team – they are here for a reason – they have to be able to adjust on the fly.”
Despite the challenges faced by the Pontiacs, the associate general manager said it's when faced with adversity that character will shine through on the team.
“That aside, everything's been going well. We are happy with our group, and we think we have got a very strong team when all of us are out there and healthy,” he said. “We'll get through it. It's not playoff hockey... We're going to make sure that we're fully staffed and ready to go when we get to the playoffs in March.”
Facing the top team in the league
The Bonnyville Pontiacs are sitting in sixth place in the league overall, and risk dropping further with the Drumheller Dragons just one point behind them.
“Brooks is arguably the best team in all of Canada for junior hockey. We went down there before Christmas and beat them, so they owed us one coming back in our barn tonight,” said Langridge. “Short-staffed wasn't the greatest way to play them, but so be it.”
Going deep into the Bonnyville’s bench and relying on some rookie talent, bad luck would dissolve two opportunities that almost saw the Pontiacs take the lead in the first period. Instead, the Bandits would put up the first point earned halfway through the first period.
The Bandits pulled further ahead with three more unanswered goals in the second period. One of which was scored during a power play.
Returning to the ice in the third period, the Pontiacs dug deep to hold the Bandits at bay but struggled to maintain possession of the puck.
Eventually, Bandits’ player Luke Marshall would earn the final goal, assisted by Bonnyville native Tyler Blocha, for a final score of 5-0.
“I liked our pushback in the in the third period, I thought we played much better. Our second period is what we needed to really work on tonight,” acknowledged Langridge. “We didn't bear down when we needed to.”
Speaking to the games ahead, he said, “The young guys have to figure out how to start carrying the load. Everybody's been in the league now for 40 plus games. It's time for them to realize that they’re every day Jr. A players and they can make an impact every night.”
Team captain weighs in
Trey Funk, the Pontiacs’ team captain, has seen a lot in his three years with the Bonnyville team – but perhaps not so many injuries and suspensions all at once.
Regardless of the hurdles faced by the team, Funk said, “It doesn't matter who's in the lineup or who's out – I have got a lot of belief in this group. Everyone contributes a lot [and] we still have a lot of heart.”
“It's definitely not the result we wanted to see. I thought we could have been way better tonight, our compete level wasn't really there,” acknowledged Funk. “It’s just unfortunate because to play games against a team like Brooks, you’ve got to get up.”
Last year, the Brooks Bandits won Canada Junior Hockey League’s 2022 Centennial Cup.
Moving forward Funk said, “My personal goal is just to contribute as much as I can and lead the team to play a 200-foot game and defend with passion. And the team goal is to win every game that we can. I don't see why we can't.”
Having come up short against Brooks on Saturday night, the coming week will not offer any respite for the Bonnyville team as they take on the second ranked team, the Spruce Grove Saints, and the Sherwood Park Crusaders.
The Pontiacs' next home game will be against the Sherwood Park Crusaders at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15.
