The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs returned from the holiday break with their plate full – a home and home series with league leading Spruce Grove Saints Jan. 4-5. The Pontiacs took the first game at home with a 3-2 shootout win. The next night in Spruce Grove, the Saints returned the favour winning 3-2, this time in regulation.
The Pontiacs returned to home ice Tuesday with a little extra jump in their step, and came out with a lot of energy against the Saints and played one of their most complete games of the season, according to head coach and GM Chad Mercier.
“That's as close to a 60-minute effort as I think we've had all year.”
The extra energy could be partly attributed to the return of assistant captain Dante Borrelli to the Pontiacs' lineup.
“He is a special player,” said Mercier. “What he brings to our lineup is much more than what you see on the stat sheet. He brings so much energy and has such a passion for the game.”
Borrelli said he was excited to be back in the lineup after missing 15 games with a leg injury and was happy with the way his team came out to play. “First period, first shift, we just took it to them … got that first goal. We had that life and energy right from the start, that's exactly what we needed.”
All the energy out of the gate definitely drew the attention of the Saints. Spruce Grove took an early penalty, allowing Bonnyville's power play unit, ranked fifth in the league, to go to work.
With a few crisp passes, players worked the puck around the offensive zone and it ended up on the stick of a wide-open Matt Montesano. Without hesitating, the Pontiac forward snapped the puck into the gaping net, for the 1-0 lead.
The Pontiacs special teams were very successful, going 2 for 5 on the power play and also having four critical kills, leaving the Saints power play 0 for 4 on the night.
Pontiacs forward Ryan Kearns commended his team's hard work on the power play and penalty kill. “The guys really gave it their all, and on the power play…we settled things down and established shots, that's the key.”
After a scoreless second, the Saints tied it up early in the third. But Bonnyville responded just three minutes later, with their second power play goal of the night.
The goal came off the stick of defenceman Donnie Harris, who sent a wrister through the crowd, with the puck eventually finding the top corner, giving the Pontiacs back the lead.
But it did not last long, as the Saints poured on the pressure and tied the game with 10 minutes to go in regulation.
In the shootout, both teams scored on their second attempt, with Tyler Henry scoring for the Pontiacs.
Pontiacs goalie Julien Laplante stopped the next four Saints shooters. Then it was Ryan Kearns's turn to try to win it for the Pontiacs.
Kearns skated in with speed, made a move and snapped it home for the win.
“It's been a few years, that felt absolutely amazing,” said Kearns about scoring the shootout winner and beating the Saints for the first time in over two seasons.
“It felt really good,” added Borrelli. But he said it does not end there. “We're happy with the win but we're not going to be satisfied. We want to show that we are one of the top teams in this league and to do that we have to continue to beat the best.”
But the next night, the Pontiacs could not withstand the Saints' pressure at home.
The Saints outshot the Pontiacs 34-23 and with the 3-2 win, the Saints added to their overall lead in the standings, increasing their point total to 70.
After going down 1-0 in the second, defenceman Jordon Krankowsky scored his third goal of the season to tie it up. Kevin Carthy scored late in the game on the power play for the Pontiacs, but it was not enough, as the Saints split the home and home series with the win.
Pontiacs notes
The Pontiacs were scheduled to play in Sherwood Park Saturday, but due to poor road conditions the game was cancelled. The Pontiacs return to action Wednesday in Sherwood Park to face the Crusaders.
The Pontiacs now sit six points ahead of fourth place Lloydminster and 10 points behind second place Fort McMurray, who have been on a tear of late, winning 11 straight games.
