The Bonnyville Atom Pontiacs proved their place in the provincial tournament is no joke, defeating Fort Saskatchewan in a two game series and claiming the Zone 2 title. The victory advanced the Pontiacs into the Atom AA Minor provincial tournament as champions, even though they were already guaranteed a spot as hosts.
“It was nice to earn out spot, regardless of whether we were hosting or not. It really showed us something and proved we belong,” said head coach Darcy Skarsen.
The young Bonnyville squad found themselves fighting for their playoff lives in the Zone 2 final against the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers after losing the first game of the series 4-3. The team with the most goals after two games would win the series meaning the Pontiacs needed to win by two to punch their ticket to the provincials as zone champs.
“In the second game we came out firing and grabbed a 6-0 lead. We let in a couple late goals, but we really showed up. The team played really well,” said Skarsen.
A 6-2 victory gave Bonnyville the 9-5 goal advantage over the two games, and also worked as a huge boost to the team's confidence level.
“I think we will have a little more confidence going in, especially knowing that we can beat Fort Saskatchewan and knowing who they have beaten,” said Skarsen.
Nine of the best Atom hockey teams in the province will join the Pontiacs in Bonnyville March 17 through 20 for the four-day tournament, which will see each team play four round robin games.
The Pontiacs tournament will kick off on Thursday, March 17 when the face off against the Stony Plain Predators at 6:30 p.m. The following day the team will be in tough taking on the Canmore Eagles at 11:30 a.m. and the KC Cougars at 7 p.m. Bonnyville will finish up their round robin play against the Camrose Vikings with puck drop set for 4 p.m. Saturday.
“I honestly really think we have a good shot at winning this thing. If we play well I think it is going to be hard to beat us. There are probably just a couple of teams who more skilled than us, but I really have us in the top three in that tournament,” said Skarsen.
“In the end you never know what is going to happen with 10-year-olds and 11-year-olds.”
The Atom Pontiacs dominated their league all season long, and played close games against almost every opponent they faced. They tied an earlier game against Camrose and lost by one in a match against Stony Plain.
“They were two really close tight games. It has been a couple of months since we played either of those teams and I think we have come a long way since then,” said Skarsen.
Everything is in place for the tournament, which will take over the Centennial Centre this coming weekend. The event is expected to be a huge boost for the local economy as hundreds of players and their families will be in town for four days. Over 150 hotel rooms have been booked, and deals with local restaurants are in place.
“We have already spent over $10,000 in this town with out anyone showing up yet,” said Skarsen. “There are going to be a lot of people here and it is going to be great for the town.”
