The Bonnyville Sr. AA Pontiacs tasted sweet victory for the first time this season.
Their 5-4 win over the Whitecourt Wild on Saturday, Oct. 23 was nothing short of a hard fought battle.
Head coach Corey Wandler said the team pulled together in order to capitalize on home ice.
“It’s not one individual that’s getting it done, it’s everyone buying in. It’s a team effort, from our goalie out, who had a tremendous performance and made some big saves for us, our defence looked good, they transitioned the puck well, and our forwards were gritty and tough,” he stressed.
As soon as the team hit the ice at the RJ Lalonde Arena, they were dead set on ending the night on a high note.
“It was a much better head start for our group, that was the one thing we wanted to focus on,” detailed Wandler.
Taking the lead early on, the Pontiacs first goal came from Dru Morrison.
Ten minutes later, at 15:54, the local team once again found the back of the net, this time with Lucas Isley celebrating his success.
The Pontiacs headed into the second with a 2-0 lead, but the Wild were quick to put their shutout dreams to an end.
Just over five minutes into the frame, Whitecourt found the scoreboard with their first goal.
Their success didn’t last long. A penalty gave the Pontiacs a one man advantage, and they used it wisely.
Isley scored his second of the night, bringing the home team up 3-1.
Bonnyville got another by their opponents’ goaltender just 20 seconds later. Ryan Rancier added his name to the score sheet, and the Pontiacs’ lead grew once more.
With less than six minutes in the second, the Wild scored two back-to-back goals, ending the frame 4-3.
The local boys started the third off on a high note, after Isley polished off a hat trick.
Whitecourt gave it one last-ditch effort, and got the puck past Pontiac goalie Calvin Giese one last time.
Tension throughout the third period made it clear how hungry both teams were for a win.
Wandler said, “I don’t think they have one, and we didn’t have one. We wanted the two points as bad as they did, and we’re the team that did a little bit better.”
Letting their emotions get the better of them, both the Pontiacs and the Wild racked up major time in the penalty box.
“Emotions get high out there… and sometimes they get the best of you, but that’s senior hockey,” expressed Wandler, adding although it shows the team is giving it all they’ve got, it also means fewer players to pull from.
“It’s tough because you can’t use your whole bench. You have to rely on five or six guys. You know they’re going to get worn down, but they’re guys you have to rely on,” he noted. “You want to use your whole bench, but in those situations, you just have to go and keep them short. Keep your legs fresh, short shifts, and just compete. They found a way to grind through it.”
In total, Bonnyville collected a full 20 minutes of penalties in the third period, not far off from their opponents 14.
Wandler described the tone as “two teams desperate for a win.”
“We had a strong first. There was a really gritty, gutsy effort from our group-everyone bought in tonight. They battled… That’s what it takes to win in this league,” said Wandler. “It got chippy towards the end, but that’s a team effort and win, and for us, that’s a huge deal.”
Pontiac Joel Bourget agreed the team performed well.
“It’s good for the boys to get this win and it was definitely well-needed. We worked really hard.”
He agreed that towards the end, both teams started playing a little rough.
“They started taking liberties at us... Everybody started getting dirty and chippy at us, so we gave it back to them. It was a gutsy win.”
They’re hitting the road for their next two games, but will be back at the RJ Lalonde for their Nov. 3 match-up against Sylvan Lake.
