It was a tough week for the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs, as the squad dropped three straight games in overtime, including an eleven-round shootout loss in Fort McMurray.
“Three out of six points is disappointing because we expect to win now,” said Rick Swan, Bonnyville Head Coach and GM. “We did some good things out there and we have to learn from theses games. We have a team here that can be difficult to play against, but it takes 60 minutes of not deviating from our structure and playing hard.”
Goals by Evan Warmington and Chad Hurtubise allowed the Pontiacs to jump out to a 2-0 lead in Fort McMurray on Feb. 4, before a hiccup in the early stages of the third period saw the hometown Oil Barons fire three pucks past Troy Trombley to take the lead. Bonnyville battled back and tied the game on a late goal by Alden Dupuis, which sent the game into overtime and eventually a shootout.
The first and fourth shooters scored before the goalies took over the show and both stopped the next six shots they faced. Finally, in the 11th round, Oil Barons defenseman Mark Drohan slipped a puck past Trombley to win the game 4-3.
Bonnyville's terrible shootout luck would come back to haunt them again on Friday night as the team dropped another 4-3 shootout decision to the Canmore Eagles.
This game also saw the Pontiacs give up a two-goal lead in the third period and allow the visitors to force extra time.
Ryan Symington and Cory Santoro found the back of the net in the first period to propel the Pontiacs to a 2-0 lead.
After Matt Forchuk scored a 9:26 of the second period, Bonnyville native Brinson Pasichnuk extended the Pontiacs lead to 3-1.
Canmore's Ryley Risling went to work late in the second and early in the third notching a pair of goals to tie the game at three.
The game wasn't decided until the sixth round of the shootout when Canmore's Joe Serpico slid one past Trombley.
It was a similar script for the Pontiacs on Saturday night as the team blew another third period lead and lost to the visiting Drayton Valley Thunder in overtime.
A bright spot for Bonnyville was the spectacular play of forward Kyler Hehn, who added two more goals to continue his impressive campaign.
Hehn got the scoring going at 13:37 of the first period, when he beat Thunder net minder Marc Oliver Daigle to give the Pontiacs a 1-0 lead. He restored the one-goal lead late in the second period, when he made a nifty play to notch his second of the game and 24th of the season.
The Pontiacs 2-1 lead held up until midway through the final frame when Thunder forward Brett Smythe beat Trombley to even the score.
The Thunder completed the comeback in overtime with Brayden Harris scoring the game winner at 2:15 of the extra frame.
“I thought the effort was there. We just have to clean up little details in our own end like picking up guys away from the puck and just staying with the game for the whole sixty minutes,” said Pontiacs captain Braiden Doucette.
“It never feels good to lose, but the main thing is we are getting points and that is what matters right now. We are trying to get into that second place spot for home ice in most of the playoffs.”
Up next for the Pontiacs is a pivotal tilt in Sherwood Park on Wednesday night against the Crusaders. Heading into the game Bonnyville sits one point up on Sherwood Park and one point back of Fort McMurray.
The Pontiacs will return home for the final two home games of the season on Saturday against Brooks and Sunday afternoon against Calgary.
