The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs continue to dominate the north divsion.
The Pontiacs kept their win streak alive with a shutout victory against the Lloydminster Bobcats.
It all came to an end when Bonnyville fell in overtime to the Canmore Eagles.
Regardless of their mid-week loss, the Pontiacs capitalized against the Whitecourt Wolverines, giving them a two-point lead for first in the north division.
With the end of the season in sight, the Pontiacs continue to fight an uphill battle to stay on top.
“We’ve got 10 games left in the season and we really control our own destiny,” explained head coach Rick Swan. “It’s not going to be easy... but, I think it’s going to get us ready for playoffs. It’s going to really test us, and see what we’re made of in terms of the character we’ve got and our resilience as a team to play the right way.”
Pontiacs shut-out Bobcats
The Pontiacs continued to build off of their previous week’s success after defeating the visiting Lloydminster Bobcats on Wednesday, Jan. 30.
It was Ethan Leyer who put the home team on the scoreboard with the first goal of the night less than five minutes into the first.
Pontiac Grayson Constable kept the scoring going in the second period with one of his own at the three minute mark.
Garin Butler added another point to the Pontiacs’ lead during a powerplay.
Bonnyville kept their momentum going with another powerplay goal by Marc-Antoine Benoit, ending the second 4-0.
He would add another point less than two minutes into the third, followed by Butler with the last goal of the night.
The 6-0 win marks goaltender Easton Hesse’s third shutout so far this season.
Loss in overtime
The Pontiacs win streak came to an end when they lost 5-4 in overtime on home ice against the Canmore Eagles on Friday, Feb. 1.
First to add his name to the scoresheet was Leyer, who found the back of the net three minutes into the game.
The Eagles responded with a point of their own.
Breaking the 1-1tie with powerplay goal was Lucas Thorne.
Bonnyville had a 2-1 lead when Benoit found the back of their opponent’s net just minutes into the second frame.
Canmore tied it up once again by scoring two of their own.
Tied at three a piece, the Eagles capitalized on a powerplay with less than two minutes remaining.
One second was left on the clock when Constable scored, sending the game into overtime.
In the end, the 5-4 victory went to Canmore. They landed the final goal of the game less than a minute into overtime.
Pontiacs tame the Wolverines
The Pontiacs bounced back with a 4-1 victory when they faced-off against the Whitecourt Wolverines at the R.J. Lalonde Arena on Saturday, Feb. 2.
“I think we had some ups and downs in the ‘D’ zone. I think sometimes it could have been better, but overall, I think it was a pretty good game. We’ve been dominant lately, so we’ve just got to keep it that way,” expressed Benoit.
The first period went to the Pontiacs, when Daine Dubois scored half-way through the first frame.
Cayden Kraus finished the first period capitalizing on a powerplay, ending the period in Bonnyville’s favour 2-0.
Whitecourt would put themselves on the scoreboard three minutes into the second.
Jeremy Gervais added his name to the scoresheet with the Pontiacs’ third goal of the night.
It would be Trey Thomas, solidifying the Bonnyville’s 4-1 victory with less than 10 minutes remaining in the second period.
At the end of the week, the Pontiacs walked away with five out of six possible points.
Goaltender Colby Muise said, “Every win is huge, especially because Sherwood Park is only two points behind us. We have one more game against them, so if we can saddle down and get everything working, especially because you want to be first going into playoffs anyways, every win you can get is huge.”
The Pontiacs next home game is Saturday, Feb. 9 against the Sherwood Park Crusaders. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
