Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs forwards Eric Peterson and Devon Kalinski gave their team a nice holiday gift before the break, as both players picked up four point nights, in the Pontiacs 8-4 win over St. Albert Dec. 22.
Peterson had a great night, scoring a hat-trick and adding one assist, while Kalinski picked up three assists and netted one goal for an equally impressive night on the score sheet.
Pontiacs head coach Chad Mercier said his team played a complete game, getting almost 50 shots and holding St. Albert to under 25 shots in the game.
“We were very good five on five and on the power play. Probably one of our best efforts in those two areas in a month,” said Mercier.
He added, “We wanted to go into the break on a high. We were structured last night and did a lot of things right and the boys got rewarded for that”
For all the goals scored in the game, the first period was relatively quiet. In fact, it was St. Albert opening the scoring eight minutes in on the power play. However, Montesano tied it up just over four minutes later.
After 14 shots in the first period, Bonnyville came out even harder in the second, getting 19 shots.
The Pontiacs scored two early power play goals in the period, making it 3-1.
St. Albert responded with one, but the Pontiacs added two more in the period to make it 5-2 after the second.
Peterson scored 38 seconds into the third, but the Steel replied with two quick goals of their own to bring the game to 6-4.
Peterson scored his hat-trick goal eight minutes into the period and Henry added one more goal for good measure, as the Pontiacs took the game 8-4.
Julien Laplante was not too busy, stopping 19 of 23 for his 20th win of the season.
With the scoring outburst against the Steel, three Pontiacs move into the league's top 20 in scoring, with Montesano sitting tied for 11th with 43 points, and Kalinski and Juneau tied for 16th with 40 points each.
Along with all the scoring, the Pontiacs also got the win, which moves them into a tie with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons for second place in the division, with 40 games played and 57 points each. Still well ahead of the rest is the perennially strong Spruce Grove Saints, sitting atop the league with 65 points.
The Pontiacs now go on an extended break into the new year. The Pontiacs will have a tough test upon returning to action, as they play a home and home series with league-leading Spruce Grove Jan. 4-5. The Pontiacs will be at home for the first game and then head to Spruce Grove for the balance of the two-game series.
Check out next week's issue of the Nouvelle for a two-thirds season review, looking at the Pontiacs season so far, with a look at some stats, Mercier's thoughts on the team's play and more.
