Pontiacs Take DV in a Flippin’ Match

It was pancakes on a ferris wheel at the RJ Friday evening

The Bonnyville Jr A Pontiacs welcomed the Drayton Valley Thunder to the RJ in a Friday night back-and-forth match. The score flipped nine times before settling on the Pontiacs, with a 5-4 victory over the Thunder. Head Coach of the Bonnyville Pontiacs, Rick Swan, says the team showed determination and character on the ice as they battle back with each flip of the score.

“two point is what we were looking for. That’s a success we created through a lot of character and not letting the frustration, in terms of things that were happening in the game,” referring to the back-and-forth on the scoreboard, explains Coach Swan. The Pontiacs opened it, how you want to open a hockey game, with an early unassisted goal from Brendan Holterhus at 1:41 in the first. It wasn’t long after  Alden Dupuis would find himself in the box for Tripping; which lead to a scoring opportunity that the Thunder took great advantage of and tied up the game at 3:41 from  Tyler Benko with the assists to Andrew Troy and Rhett Willcox.

The Thunder would get the go-ahead at 12:30 from Mackenzie Mindus with the help of Chris Breese and Matt Benko, before Dupuis would show what his stick is really made for and pop one in to tie it up at two goals a piece.

Drayton Valley would take the go-ahead in the second at 3:07, with a goal by Michael Cardinal from Chris Breese and Marcus Walter. Tying the game up was Pontiacs’ Jake Gresh from Derek Brown and Brandon Whistle. And… that’s when things got chippin’. While  Brendan Holterhus was in the box for his last 20 seconds of a 2 minute boarding penalty, Drayton Valley’s Marcus Walter took the game to a 4-3 lead for the Thunder. Pontiacs’ Riley Perka was the next to see the inside of the box for hooking; however, this time Dupuis would make up for his point loss in the box with a short handed goal to tie up the game at 4-4.

The tie up was enough for coach Swan to make the tough decision to bring starting goalie Josh Williams out and put Matteo Esposito in between the pipes. “Coaches pull goaltenders for a number of reasons,” explains the Swan, “it could be that the goaltender, himself, is struggling. Other reasons we’ve pulled is to try and create momentum for the team and give them a sense of urgency to their play.” Coach Swan says sometimes it’s just not a player’s game, “Josh has been great for us all year. He’s allowed very little, in terms of what the other team has been able to create offensively.”

Intensity rose in third with captain of the Pontiacs’ Ryan Symington dropping mitts with Connor Mowatt. Both players would get ejected from the game with 10 minutes for game misconduct and 5 for fighting. Drayton Valley’s Mackenzie Mindus would take some time to reflect only four seconds later for holding; while the scoreboard would hold tight as well.

Pontiac’s latest aquire, 17 year old, Trygve Many Guns sat out two minute for roughing. It must’ve been enough time for the towering 6’4 left winger to devise a plan to flip that board one final time. Battle down the ice with  PJ Marrocco,  Many Guns put one up high on DV’s Parker Tobin, who was fresh on the ice after the Thunder’s coach pulled Joseph McLeod early in the third. The goal would be the final flip of the night with the Yaks taking the game 5-4.

The Pontiacs will welcome Drayton Valley back to the RJ Lalonde arena for a double header next weekend, but before they get to that, they have to take on the Lloydminster Bobcats. In a back-to-back rivalry match, the Pontiacs travel to Lloydminster on the 12th, but not before they welcome the Bobcats Thanksgiving Sunday at 4:00 pm. WIN tickets to those three games on LCN, enter now.