The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs didn’t let a rough start to their weekend slow them down.
They bounced back from their 3-2 loss to the Whitecourt Wolverines with a 5-4 shootout win the following night.
Tough loss for Bonnyville
When the Wolverines came to town on Friday, Nov. 22, the Pontiacs fell 3-2.
Head coach Rick Swan said, “I let the guys know that I wasn’t unhappy with the performance, and those things are going to happen sometimes... We’re going to play the game and we’re not going to win them all.”
Whitecourt took an early lead in the first, scoring with less than eight minutes left in the frame.
Bonnyville’s Reilly Connors made an impression during his first game wearing the Pontiac crest, scoring the home team’s first point of the night during a powerplay.
Connors, who was recently acquired through a trade with the Brooks Bandits, described his Pontiac experience so far as amazing.
“The coaches have been tremendous, welcoming us with open arms, and all the boys too. Leadership is unbelievable, and it’s just a lot of fun overall getting to come to the rink and working hard every day,” he expressed.
Captain Joel Ray added his name to the scoresheet, bringing the score at two for Bonnyville.
The Wolverines tied it up (2-2) before the second period was through.
With just 30 seconds on the clock, Whitecourt found the back of the net for the final goal of the game.
Pontiacs claw their way to
victory
Bonnyville was determined to come out on top when they faced Whitecourt once again on home ice, and they didn’t disappoint.
They bested the Wolverines with a 5-4 victory on Saturday, Nov. 23.
“I think it had a lot for the fans, in terms of their excitement and perspective,” exclaimed Swan. “With respect to us having to come back from a two-goal deficit in the second period, us pulling the goalie on a six-on-four situation, to tie up the game, and then having a shoot out... We’re still struggling a bit in terms of finding our buy-in with the structure and the way we play,” he noted. “We had an emotional trade with Marc Benoit leaving and two new players coming in, but to go through wins like this, where you do come back, it just brings everybody together.”
It was Pontiac Lucas Thorne who got the evening going, finding the back of the net with less than a minute into the first.
Whitecourt answered later in the frame, bringing the score to 1-1.
Jaxsen Wyatt added his name to the scoresheet shortly into the second frame. The Pontiacs’ success was cut short when the Wolverines scored back-to-back goals before the buzzer.
The visiting team continued their streak in the third, bringing their lead to 4-2 with a shorthanded goal.
“After the second, we really thought we were going to get back into it,” Connors said. “That fourth goal by them didn’t dampen our spirits too much.”
Daine Dubois found his footing and snuck one past Whitecourt’s netminder just moments after Whitecourt scored.
The game wasn’t over for the Pontiacs. With less than a minute left in the final frame, Dubois scored.
“I saw him get the puck in the slot, and I saw the top shelf wide open,” recalled defenceman A.J. Macaulay. “I was just praying that he shot in the top shelf, and sure enough, he did.”
A scoreless overtime sent the teams into a shoot out.
After trading goals, Macaulay found the back of the net, solidifying the Pontiacs 5-4 victory.
The Pontiacs are now hitting the road for matchups against the Olds Grizzlys, Calgary Canucks, Okotoks Oilers, and Canmore Eagles.
“At the end of it, it will be six games in seven or eight days. There’s not a lot of turn around, a lot of wear and tear and a lot of games so we refined a lot of what we were trying to accomplish here as a team against Whitecourt,” detailed Swan.
They will face the Sherwood Park Crusaders in their next home game starting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
