Melissa Barr

The Fort McMurray Oil Barons goalie stops Pontiacs co-captain Kevin Carthy's tip during Friday's game.

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Pontiacs answer coach's challenge with wins

Wells named Player of the Week

Perhaps playing four games in five nights was exactly what the Jr. A Pontiacs needed, as the team put up three wins and one loss this past week, improving its record to 31-12-5, good for fourth in the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s North Division, five points back of the third-place Lloydminster Bobcats.

After picking up two wins on the road, a 5-2 victory in Drayton Valley Jan. 17 and a 4-1 win in Grande Prairie the next night, the Pontiacs carried that momentum back to Bonnyville splitting a double-header with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons Friday and Saturday night at the R.J. Lalonde Arena.

“This week was a great test for us,” said Pontiacs head coach and general manager Chad Mercier. “I think our guys, throughout the week, grew, got better and really came together as a team. We have no more passengers, we’re all in this together and we’re now doing the things we need to do to have success.”

Friday’s game saw the Oil Barons jump out to an early lead, with the Pontiacs climbing back into it late in the second period on a goal by Dallas Ansell.

After the Oil Barons reclaimed the lead early in the third frame, Bonnyville looked to have tied it up as the period wound down, but the goal was called off by the referee, much to the dismay of the Pontiacs and their fans.

Despite the 2-1 loss, Pontiacs goalie Dylan Wells was named a game star, making 28 stops.

The Pontiacs returned the favour in the latter half of the double header, skating away with a 2-1 victory Saturday night over the Oil Barons.

For the second night in a row, Fort McMurray opened the scoring, this time in the second period, after throwing 13 shots on net in the first frame.

Pontiacs forward Tanner Dusyk, who scored Friday’s game-tying goal, which was eventually disallowed, took it upon himself to score another game-tying goal Saturday, early in the third period.

The goal built momentum for Bonnyville, as forward Dillon Currie scored the eventual game-winning goal just five minutes later.

“We lose Friday and in some ways I think we played better in that game than we played Saturday. But that’s how things go when you are up against such tight competition,” Mercier explained.

He credited his team’s leadership and younger players with answering the challenge put out to them heading into last week, to be better and more consistent in their efforts.

The Pontiacs have another busy week ahead of them, with four games scheduled for the next seven days, including a charity game against the Spruce Grove Saints Wednesday in Slave Lake.

The game, which will be played in Slave Lake’s Arctic Ice Centre, is an official regular season game. However, all proceeds from the event will be donated to Slave Lake Minor Hockey.

Following the charity game, the Pontiacs will return home to take on the Drayton Valley Thunder Friday and the Brooks Bandits Saturday at the R.J. Lalonde Arena, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. both nights.

Bonnyville will wrap up the month of January with a game in Grande Prairie Jan. 31.

Wells named AJHL Player of the Week

Pontiacs number one goalie Dylan Wells was named the AJHL’s Player of the Week for Jan. 16-22.

Wells posted a 3-1 record over that span, allowing just six goals on 131 shots. He was also named a game star in his only loss of the week.

Wells also improved his overall record to 20-8-4 with a goals against average of 2.38 and a save percentage of 91.6.

“This is a big honour to be chosen by the league this week,” said Wells. “But the goal stays the same. I am going to work extremely hard to improve everyday and give my team a chance to win.”

“A lot of credit has to go to the team in front of me too. Our guys have been playing great hockey. We’re right there and we are going to keep pushing right through playoffs.”