Pontiacs Suffer Tough 4-3 Loss in OT

Bonnyville’s losing streak extends to three games after an overtime loss to Ft Mac

Head Coach for the Bonnyville Pontiacs, Rick Swan, says the club wasn’t itself on Tuesday evening, when The Fort McMurray Oil Barons were in town. Following the double losses on the weekend, Coach Swan said the club talked a lot about being prepared, “we didn’t play our best at times, and we allowed other teams to come in here and exploit that.”

“You can learn something from whether you win or lose. Especially, when you don’t get the result you want in hockey games; as long as you own it.” Coach Swan says the squad will use Tuesday’s game as a learning opportunity and grow from the loss.

The Pontiacs held off the Oil Barons until late in the first period, Fort Mac’s Brett Edwards  got the first goal of the game at 16:13. The Pontiacs answered back quickly with a shorthanded goal from Ryan Piche at 18:58; the assist going to Mitchell Oliver. However, the Oil Barons were able to advance before the close of the first period with a goal from Curtis Roach  on the powerplay at 19:18.

“You have to take accountability for your part in those types of performances,” says the coach. The second period remained scoreless as the Pontiacs battled hard to answer the Fort Mac’s go-ahead first period goal. The Oil Barons then advanced by two with a goal from Will Conley, 1:38 in the third. Ryan Piche the popped in his second goal of the evening, with the assists to Jake Gresh and Carter Rhine.

It was Oliver from Brandon Whistle on the powerplay that would tie the game up at 18:13 in the third and force extra time. “There’s a big difference between our weekend performances and Tuesday’s game. Not taking anything away from Fort McMurray, they’re the number one team in the Alberta Hockey League for a reason. They have a pretty darn good structure and they have coaching… But our guys did deserve a better fate.”

A mere 34 seconds into extra time was all it took for the Oil Barons to close the game, with an unassisted goal from  Brandon Ralph. “if we put in the effort that we did [on Tuesday], we’re going to win more often than not. They played the clock for 60 minutes and they made sure they were competitive through their work effort.”

The Pontiacs hit the road for a three game weekend, starting Friday in Whitecourt, then a double-header versus Grand Prairie Saturday and Sunday. The boys return home Thursday November 10th, to take on the Whitecourt Wolverines at the RJ Lalonde. WIN tickets to the game on LCN!