BONNYVILLE – On Friday night, with the largest home crowd the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs have seen in two years, the Pontiacs showed up to the game against the Camrose Kodiaks wearing bright pink socks – a symbol of the anti-bullying and respect program the Jr. A club takes part in every year.
The match-up against the Kodiaks that saw the Pontiacs win 5-3, was also used as a means to encourage the Golden Rule and to encourage people to stand up against bullying.
“It just magnifies the importance that junior hockey players in our community won't tolerate (bullying) and nor should you,” said Head Coach and General Manager Rick Swan.
He added that it is important that players share this message with young people because the team is looked to as role models and mentors in the community.
However, the Pontiacs did find themselves in a little bit of trouble during their Friday night game for taunting their opponent's bench during the third period.
“There is some sportsmanship to the game even though it's a passionate game... so essentially, the referee just said, ‘No, look that's unsportsmanlike conduct. We're going to stop it right now and if any of you guys want to continue to make my job harder and get the game out of hand, then I'm going to throw all you guys in the box,’” explained Swan.
Pontiac player Alex Danis and a player from the other team spent two minutes in the penalty box following some unsportsman like behaviour related to taunting the away team's bench.
Friday night's win
Scoring the first goal of the night was Alex Atwill with an assistant from Ryan Koebel and JR Ashmead. The goal was quickly answered by the Kodiaks. But before the end of the first period, Cole Hipkin earned the Pontiacs the lead once again with the help of Sebastian Tamburro and Koebel.
The Kodiaks would again tie the score and put pressure on the home team. The next and only Pontiac to score in the second period was Will Hilfiker who was assisted by Danis and Atwill.
In the third period, the Pontiacs separated themselves from their opponent with another goal, this time being scored by Kash Rasmussen with the help of Atwill.
With the score at 4-2 for the home team, tensions rose on the ice while the crowd’s cheers grew louder. The Kodiaks would score once more to tighten the gap but were unable to match the Pontiacs.
In the last minute of the game, the Pontiacs sealed their win following an empty net goal scored by Tamburro with a pass from Hipkin and Nick Traggio.
“With seven games remaining in the season, it's hard to believe that today was game 54 of our regular season schedule. Teams now are vying for playoff positioning, jockeying and trying to get home ice advantage,” Swan said.
He continued, “It should be the time when teams are playing their best hockey... And the expectations are higher because you want to create momentum going into the playoffs with such a short period of time left and that's why you're seeing a real competitive relentless game.”
Saturday night at RJ Lalonde
The Pontiacs’ game on Saturday night would also shape up to be another relentless game that saw the home team dig deep for the win.
Taking on the Okotoks Oilers, the game would not be decided until overtime.
The Oilers would be the first to put up a point in the first period but would remain the only point earned for the remainder of the first and second period by either team.
The Okotoks team would score again in the third period while taking advantage of a powerplay, leaving the game 2-0.
With less than five minutes left in the game, and down two points, Hipkin would manage a goal during a powerplay with the help of Matteo Giampa and Tamburro.
Just two minutes later, Tamburro would tie the score after playing from behind the entire game. The Pontiacs' last goal before heading into overtime was assisted by Rasmussen and Atwill.
In overtime, A.J. Macaulay would be the one to score the winning goal. He was assisted by Giampa and Rasmussen.
Following the Pontiacs’ weekend wins, they now sit one point behind the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in the AJHL north division standings.
Speaking to the high fan turnout over the weekend, Swan says, it was like having a sixth Pontiac on the ice.
“I just love the fact that the energy in the building was as close to normal. It was the bright spot that we haven’t seen in an AJHL season last year and this year... Man, we're grateful that now that this is maybe leading to bigger and better things, especially at the most important time of the year for us – playoffs.”
The Pontiacs will be back at the RJ Lalonde Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to take on the Sherwood Park Crusaders.
