The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs picked up three of a possible four points this past weekend, staying atop the AJHL's North Division, as teams pass the quarter point in the regular season.
Bonnyville improved its overall record to 9-2-3 with a 4-2 victory over the Drayton Valley Thunder Friday and 3-2 overtime loss in the rematch between the teams Saturday.
Chad Mercier, Pontiacs head coach and general manager, said there were a lot of positives to take from this past weekend's play and he likes what he sees as the season is progressing, but he said there is a lot of work to be done to get to where the players and coaches want to be.
“I think our guys were really going and the effort was there and it paid off,” said Mercier. “But there's always work to be done and we're still looking for that complete 60-minute effort from our entire lineup. But there were definitely some positives to take out of it and I think we took some steps forward in establishing our team's identity.”
Pontiacs forward Levi Ansell, who has played in just five games this season and three since returning from injury, picked up two goals in Friday's win and echoed his coach's sentiments.
“We did a lot of good things,” said Ansell. “But there are definitely still things to work on.
He added, “I think we're building an identity here as a hard hockey team to play against and that's what we want. We don't want teams to be comfortable coming to Bonnyville.”
It was forward Brady Bakke opening the scoring for the Pontiacs on Friday. Bakke also picked up an assisted on the game-winning goal scored by forward Tommy Barszcz late in the third period after Ansell had scored his first on the night early in the period.
The Thunder got off to a hot start Saturday taking an early 1-0 lead, but again it was Bakke to open the scoring for the Pontiacs, notching his third goal on the season.Barszcz also scored his third on the season, with his coming on the powerplay early in the second period, tying the game at 2-2.
With no scoring in the third the game moved to overtime. And just under two minutes in, Thunder defenceman Luke Madill crashed the net and somehow the puck crossed the line for the game winner.
The Pontiacs will now practice all week before welcoming the Canmore Eagles to town for a showdown Friday night at the R. J. Lalonde Arena.
The following week the Pontiacs will head on a southern swing through Brooks, Okotoks and Canmore before returning home to face the Fort McMurray Oil Barons on Oct. 30.
