Two goals seven seconds apart late in the first period guided the AJHL-leading Camrose Kodiaks to a 3-0 victory over the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs on Saturday night.
Jody Sick's first goal of the season at 15:44, was followed by Scott Ferguson's third of the campaign at 15:51 to give Camrose all they needed to top the Pontiacs.
“One thing we were disappointed with tonight was our effort coming out of the gate,” said Pontiacs assistant coach Mark Jensen. “We knew they were going to come hard out of the gate and if we didn't respond with the same effort then we would be down and sure enough that is exactly what happened.”
The seven seconds was a costly blip in an otherwise great effort from the Bonnyville squad. After allowing 12 shots in the opening frame the hometown Pontiacs held the sixth best team in the country to three shots in the second and four shots in the third.
Unfortunately for Bonnyville one of those three second-period shots beat goaltender Reid Kilburn to extent the Kodiaks lead to three.
Ryker Leer's fourth of the season at 14:17 of the second added to the lead and put Bonnyville in a hole they couldn't come out of.
“It is always tough to get back into a game when you have a slow first period. We gave up two preventable goals,” said Bonnyville co-captain Braiden Doucette.
“We have got to get back to working hard in the first period and carry on from where we left off in these last two periods. We have to work hard, that is our identity as a team.”
Bonnyville's offence threw plenty of rubber at the opposing net, piling up 32 shots over the course of the game. The problem was rebounds and second chance opportunities were scarce, as goaltender Devein McDonald, the AJHL's Player of the Month for September, did a good job of swallowing up all 32 shots he faced to grab his third shutout of the year.
“You always have to get traffic at the net,” said Jensen. “We had to get in there and create chaos in front of the net. We are putting up the shots, so we are not worried about getting the puck to the net, but when it is there we net to get guys in front to create screens and battle for rebounds.”
Bonnyville's three game homestand ends with a pair of losses to Camrose and Sherwood Park, after opening up the stretch this past Tuesday with a win over Whitecourt.
The Pontiacs will look to get back to their winning ways when they head south for four games in five nights.
“We need to have a warriors mentality going into each and every single game,” said Jensen. “We can't go up there casual. Whether in hockey or in life, if you don't show up to do your job, you don't have a job for very long.”
Bonnyville will start their road trip on Wednesday Oct. 22 in Brooks, travel to Calgary on Thursday, head to Canmore on Saturday and then finish up in Okotoks on Sunday.
