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Sr. Yaks hope "major hiccup" doesn’t kill their playoff dreams

20.27.01.sr yaks002
The Bonnyville Sr. Pontiacs are determined not let a "major hiccup" stop them from forcing a game five in their playoff series against the Morinville Kings. File Photo.

BONNYVILLE- “Before the game was five minutes gone, it was over.”

Bonnyville Sr. Pontiacs  head coach Corey Wandler said their 17-1 loss against the Morinville Kings on Saturday, Feb. 1 was mainly due to not having a number of key players in their lineup. 

The Kings hold the lead in following the third of their five-game series with two wins, while the local team has one. 

Whether it was  because of illnesses or work schedules, Bonnyvillewere was a few men on the bench, including captain Lucas Isley.

“The group that we had weren’t prepared to play hockey, and Morinville didn’t let their foot off the gas,” he described. “They didn’t hold back and they were relentless. I can’t even explain it. I’ve never been through something like that before. You can call it a joke, or an embarrassment. It is what it is, and it’s over now. We’ve got to pick up, move on, and get ready for game four on home ice.”

When the Pontiacs headed into enemy territory against the Kings over the weekend, they just couldn’t find their footing.

Morinville netted seven goals in the first frame, with their defence preventing Bonnyville from landing any of their own.

“They were basically able to walk in and do anything they wanted,” Wandler recalled. “We didn’t check or pressure them, or defend real well. They were shooting from everywhere, sometimes they got deflected and sometimes they just beat the goalie clear as day.”

Although the Kings added another six points to their lead in the second, Pontiac Coltan Buchta ended the hosting team’s hopes of a shutout after finding the back of the Kings’ net.

Before the game was through, Morinville solidified their 17-1 win with an additional four goals in the final period.

Ahead of game four in the series, Wandler hopes the sting from the loss lights a fire under the Pontiacs.

“It’s do or die for us. The biggest thing for us is getting those key pieces back into the lineup. It’s not that the guys just didn’t want to play, there was a number of factors. There’s been a couple of injuries, some guys were battling a sickness that’s made its way through the team, and some work schedules. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to ice our best lineup, but that’s how it is sometimes in senior hockey. Hopefully, we’ll get our best lineup, have a much better effort, try to win on home ice, and push it to game five,” Wandler detailed.

He added, “Hopefully, our mindset going into the rink is we’re going to give it our all and play our best game on Saturday. If we can do it and force game five, anything can happen. That’s how we have to approach it, we have to see a positive and we can’t lose confidence or focus on the end goal here.”

The Pontiacs will go to battle against the Kings for the matchup at the R.J. Lalonde Arena on Saturday, Feb. 8. Puck drop is 7 p.m.

Robynne Henry, Bonnyville Nouvelle

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