Pontiacs Extend Win Streak to Six; Brown with a Hat trick

Yaks down Crusaders 6-2 at the RJ

On Wednesday evening, the Bonnyville Jr A Pontiacs welcomed the Sherwood Park Crusaders to the RJ Lalonde. As everyone knows, there’s no love lost between these two clubs, says Head Coach of the Pontiacs, Rick Swan.

The Pontiacs were slow off the start of the game, allowing two Sherwood Park goals in early. At 2:10 from Tyler Maltby and at 12:25 from Jacob Thomas to make it a 2-0 game. “This is the RJ Lalonde Arena, this is where the Bonnyville Pontiacs play! ” Coach Swan says the Pontiacs were able to regroup and come back firing, to show the Crusaders who’s house they were at. AJHL Player of the Week Derek Brown put in the first Pontiac goal at 14:27, from PJ Marrocco and Brendan Holterhus. It was Captain, Ryan Symington from Alden Dupuis that tied up the game, before the close of the second period.

“We started playing well, within the framework of our structure, and it started to work.” Coach Swan says once the squad focused on themselves they started to perform, “this game had to be about ourselves and what we do. Those first 10 minutes, we didn’t do that. But once we changed that things started to happen.” And they did!

The Yaks brought it in the second period, with the veteran line of Brandon Whistle, Alden Dupuis and Erik Donald opening up the scoring with a goal at 5:46 from Whistle. Jared Power would get a goal, on the power play, from Erik Donald, to make it a 4-2 game at 8:44. Followed by an unassisted goal from Brown  to close the second at 5-2 in favour of the Pontiacs.

Brown would get the sole goal in the third from Marrocco to finish off the Crusaders 6-2 and record a hat trick with the club. “He’s the hottest player in the Alberta Junior Hockey League,” Coach Swan says Brown is a great team player, “the reason he’s getting the opportunities he does, is because he works well with the players around him. He executes hard and he executes quick.”

Brown has been everything that we knew he was going to be! – Rick Swan Head Coach Bonnyville Jr A Pontiacs

The Pontiacs move on to the Kodiaks, heading to Camrose on Saturday, “we know it’s a difficult place to play, but it’s a place that we’ve found success before. It’s Camrose’s building, they’re going to have some strength, we need to match that intensity and exceed our work ethic, to continue to be successful on the road.”