The Bonnyville Sr. AA Pontiacs are lacing up to hit the ice.
Fresh off their AA Provincial Championship last year, the Pontiacs are preparing themselves for the upcoming season.
“As the defending champions, we’re hoping to build on that success this year,” explained team director Dennis Germain.
Head coach Corey Wandler is hoping for another successful provincial run, but has his focus set on making the top of the division list first.
“Last year, we fell short in playoffs and semi-finals. We were privileged enough to host provincials, we had a good showing, and ended up winning. We’re definitely going to defend that title, but I think we’re after the league championship, as well,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy with nine teams ahead of us, but we’re going to build every week, do our best to compete in this league, and hopefully we can have a good showing throughout the regular season.”
Wandler noted this year’s camp was well attended. The team will be using their upcoming practices to strengthen themselves.
“We hosted our main camp Sept. 14 and 15 in town. We just had a couple of practices, some open ice, and we just went out for a skate to knock some of the rust off from the summer,” expressed Wandler, adding they’re working on getting their pace back up.
The team is open to anyone from the age of 18 to 40 interested in playing competitively.
“We’re missing some players from last year who decided to retire or just decided not to play,” Wandler said.
Only nine of the players sporting the Pontiacs jersey are returning this season, which has allowed a new mix of players to join the team.
“The biggest question mark for us, is we’re short on bodies for defence men. We’re hoping to find some to help us out. Right now, our numbers look good, we have enough bodies to ice a team, and that’s the main thing,” Wandler expressed. “Hopefully, the guys that commit come and play good hockey for us.”
Two new teams have been added to the division this season, Red Deer and Sylvan Lake, which has the Pontiacs apprehensive of what they’ll face when playing them for the first time.
“We don’t really have a report on what they’ll be like, I imagine they’ll be competitive, every team in the league is competitive. One coming from Red Dear and Sylvan Lake... it’s going to be a challenge,” Wandler expressed.
Germain noted, fans can look forward to what they always do for the upcoming season, and that it’s a “Bonnyville tradition that’s been going on forever.”
“All local guys in the area just wanting to play hockey for the love of the game. Fans can enjoy a high-pace, high-calibre senior men’s hockey,” added Wandler.
The home opener for the Sr. Pontiacs is Saturday, Oct. 6 against the Morinville Kings. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. at the RJ Lalonde arena.
