Derek Brown notched four goals and three assists as the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs offence exploded for 25 goals over the course of four games last week.
Derek Brown notched four goals and three assists as the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs offence exploded for 25 goals over the course of four games last week.
The 18-year-old rookie centre scored three times in an 8-0 demolition of Drayton Valley on Wednesday night, chipped in with an assist in a 6-5 overtime loss to Sherwood Park Friday night, collected a goal and an assist in a bounce back 8-2 victory in Sherwood Park on Saturday night, before being held pointless in a 4-1 win in Drayton Valley on Monday.
"We know (Derek Brown) is going to be an elite player in our league and now he is starting to understand he doesn't have to wait for year two or year three (to be great)," said Pontiacs head coach and GM Rick Swan.
The offensive outburst saw the Pontiacs throw 168 shots on opposing netminders en route to picking up seven of a possible eight points.
Brinson Pasichnuk scored at 4:10 of the third period to cap off an impressive three-point performance on Monday night leading the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs to a decisive 4-1 road victory over the Drayton Valley Thunder.
The 18-year-old defenceman has racked up 59 points in 42 games and sits in a tie with forward Bobby McMann for the team lead in scoring. McMann added to his totals by scoring a pair of goals in Monday nights victory.
"What a time for those guys to really step up and show just how good they are," said Pontiacs head coach and GM Rick Swan.
The two big performances from the Pontiacs stars came on a night where NHL scouts representing Tampa Bay, Montreal and Edmonton were in the building to get a glimpse at their skill.
"They couldn't have come up with a better game than they had tonight. Bobby had a couple of highlight reel goals and Brinson had a highlight reel goal. They played the right way," added Swan.
McMann notched his 31 goal of the season 26 seconds into the second period after receiving a nice pass from Pasichnuk. Kyler Hehn added to Bonnyville's lead 1:43 later firing a shot past Drayton Valley's Matt Berlin and the Pontiacs were quickly up 2-0.
McMann was at it again seven minutes later scoring his second of the evening to propel himself to a tie for second in the AJHL goal-scoring race.
Joseph Tambasco scored the lone goal for the Thunder late in the second period, before Pasichnuk sealed the deal in the third.
The victory was an impressive won for the Pontiacs as the game was the teams fourth in a span of six days.
"Our guys understand that our game is best when we are simple and that when we stick to the framework of our structure we are a heck of a hockey team," said Swan.
After missing Wednesday nights game, 19-year-old Alden Dupuis came back into the lineup with a bang on Friday and Saturday nights, collecting three goals and three assists over two games against Sherwood Park.
The Crusaders edged the Pontiacs on Friday in Bonnyville coming out with a 6-5 victory in overtime after an intense, back-and-forth, playoff-like contest.
"We had a ton of shots on goal and there was no reason we should have lost tonight. We had some defensive zone breakdowns that cost us big," said Dupuis.
Steenn Pasichnuk and Charlie Gawlicki scored first period goals to give Bonnyville a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
The Crusaders came out on a mission to start the second and answered the Pontiacs early offence by scoring three goals in a span of 5:46 to take a 3-2 lead.
"That is all on our players. At this time of the year our players need to make sure they are invested in the game and are ready to play," said Swan.
Erik Donald snuck a shot past Sherwood Park goaltender Zach Dyment 1:32 later to even the game back up at three.
With time ticking down in the middle period Dupuis jumped up into the rush and scored his 15th goal of the season to put Bonnyville back in front 4-3.
"I gave the puck to Steenn (Pasichnuk). We were going down on a 2-on-1. He gave the puck back to me and I took it, made a move around the goalie and put it in," said Dupuis describing his second period marker.
Luke Kempf would score 9:16 into the third and Cole Chorney would add one 6:31 after that to propel the Crusaders back in front 5-4.
"We were on the power play with a couple minutes left. Ryan (Piche) and Derek (Brown) were working hard in front. Gen (Bryshun) got a shot off and the puck came out to my stick and I found the back of the net," said Dupuis.
Dupuis' second of the game came with 2:21 remaining in regulation to knot the game up and send it to overtime.
Defenceman Chase Torontow beat Olivier Charest 3:17 into the extra period to give the Crusaders the 6-5 win.
Dyment stood on his head all night long stopping 47 of the 52 shots the Pontiacs threw at him.
The Pontiacs exacted some revenge the following night walking in to Sherwood Park Arena and spanking the Crusaders 8-2 in their home barn.
"We felt our boys played within our structure from start to finish. They went out and won one-on-one battles all over the rink and played against Sherwood Park like Sherwood Park hasn't seen before," said associate coach Larry Draper.
Brinson Pasichnuk, Chad Hurtubise, Brown and Chasetan Braid scored goals and Bonnyville was up 4-0 just 11:42 into the game.
The Pasichnuk's brothers each notched goals in the second period. Steenn scored his 19th of the year and Brinson follow up with his 15th and the Pontiacs took a 6-1 lead into the second intermission.
Goals by Kyler Hehn and Dupuis and popped Bonnyville out to a commanding 8-1 lead midway through the final period.
A late goal by Brezinski would make the final score 8-2.
The victory was Bonnyville's first of the year against Sherwood Park, as the Pontiacs dropped the first five meetings against the Crusaders this season.
"Our players have a ton of character and they showed that," said Draper. "We are very happy with the results and we are also happy with the way the players rebounded."
Derek Brown scored one goal in the first period and two more in the second to notch his first career AJHL hat trick in an 8-0 demolition of the Drayton Valley Thunder on Feb. 10.
Brown's first of the night came with 3:58 remaining in the first period and followed goals by Bobby McMann and Chad Hurtubise to give Bonnyville a 3-0 lead.
The Pontiacs proved to be too much for the young, inexperienced Thunder, who had six affiliate midget players in their lineup, outshooting the visitors 19-3 after 20 minutes and taking a 3-0 lead into the break.
After Brandon Whistle made it 4-0 just 4:11 into the second frame, Brown showed off his slick mitts to deposit his second of the evening past Matt Berlin.
"Charlie (Gawlicki) fed me off the halfway when I was coming in. I pump-faked the goalie, went around him and tucked it in," said Brown, describing his 16th goal of the season.
Minutes later Ryan Piche deflected an Erik Donald point shot past a helpless Berlin to extend Bonnyville's lead to six.
At the 14:33 mark Drayton Valley's Matt McNeil was sent off for tripping, giving Brown the opportunity he needed to cap off his hat trick. Midway through the power play the 18-year-old Pontiacs forward shoveled a Piche pass past an outstretched Berlin for his third of the night.
"Piche worked really hard down low. His first pass didn't get to me, but his third pass did and I just popped it in."
Whistle, in his second game back from injury, notched his 16th of the year and second of the contest in the third period and Bonnyville sailed to an 8-0 victory.
Bonnyville was in action on Feb. 15 in Drayton Valley. Due to the Nouvelle Press time the game was unable to make the paper. Check out bonnyvillenouvelle.ca for the game story.
