The Bonnyville Sr. Pontiacs are headed to the North Central Senior Hockey League (NCHL) final after sweeping the Tofield Satellites in the north division final.
A 10-man Tofield squad was outshot 43-17 by Bonnyville, as the Sr. Pontiacs triumphed over the Satellites 11-2 in Game 3 at the RJ Lalonde last Saturday.
Forward Dallas Ansell put Bonnyville first on the board at 10:25 in the first period. Roughly a minute later, Lucas Isley sent a pass from behind the net to captain Logan Isley, who snapped a wrist shot to put Bonnyville up 2-0.
“I had a good pass from my brother, he set me up, I saw an opening low blocker and took it,” Logan said.
Bonnyville continued to build on the momentum, as Ansell deposited the rebound off a shot following a breakaway by Devon Kalinski at 12:27 to make the score 3-0.
“From the big wins we had last week it looks like we took the air out of their sails early on,” said coach Neil Langridge. “It took us a few shifts to get going but when we came flying we played Sr. Pontiacs hockey and came out with a big result again.”
At 14:52, Bonnyville's Zachary Zarowny took a penalty for tripping. Scott Effert scored Tofield's first of the game on the man-advantage to make the score 3-1.
Back to full strength, Ansell centred a pass to Kalinski, who snuck the puck past Tofield netminder Tanner Schalin at 17:13, giving Bonnyville the 4-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
“Tofield came in pretty short benched,” Langridge said. “They seemed pretty defeated off the hop.”
Bonnyville's attack continued to put pucks in the net in the second period, with Lucas scoring on a pass from Ty Carey following a two-on-one rush at 14:42.
Justin Zellweger, who had a three point game, notched his first goal of the night roughly a minute later on a pass from Tyler Cress, making the score 6-1 at the end of middle frame.
Bonnyville's Joel Olszowka scored his first playoff goal on the powerplay on a pass from Nikolas Bourget just three minutes into the final period.
At 6:58, Carey came charging down the right wing and snapped a shot into the top right corner for his first goal of the night, giving Bonnyville the 8-1 lead.
Bonnyville's offence continued thumping Toefield, with Zellweger scoring his second goal off a neatly timed pass by Denis Cadrin at 12:21.
Although Tofield's Joel Tessier scored at 17:34 to make the game 9-2, the game had already slipped from Tofield's grasp. Lucas shoveled in a backhanded goal near the right post off a pass from Carey with just two minutes remaining in the game, giving Bonnyville the 10-2 lead.
With just over a minute left in play, Zarowny and Toefield's Ryan Taylor were sent off for fighting, as a number of scraps ensued on the ice. Sr. Pontiacs Joel Bourget, Trevor Makaruk and Satellite Joshua Douglas McDonald were sent off for game misconducts.
“It looks like the frustration set in,” Langridge said. “We're a team that really prides ourselves on sticking together and we're not going to let any teams come in here and take liberties on us.”
Bonnyville had the last laugh, however, as Logan charged into the Tofield zone, deked a defender and unleashed a powerful shot from the slot to score an unassisted goal with barely 30 seconds left in the game.
“I just tried to use the d-man as a screen and it worked out,” Logan said of his second goal.
At the final buzzer, the score was 11-2, and the Sr. Pontiacs had clinched a berth in NCHL championship series where they will battle the Daysland Northstars.
“It won't be a walk in the park,” Logan said of the upcoming series. “We've got to get through this round first and worry about Daysland and then once we take care of them then obviously we'll start thinking about provincials.”
Langridge added, “Daysland and us we've only played each other once but there's definitely a rivalry between the two teams.”
Last year, the Sr. Pontiacs were crowned the Battle River Hockey League champions after defeating the Tofield Satellites. The Daysland Northstars were one of four teams that joined the NCHL after the Battle River Hockey League folded.
The date and location for Game 1 of the championship series is yet to be announced. Check http://www.northcentralhockeyleague.com/ for the latest information on schedules.
