Pontiacs 2 for 3 on the Road

Pontiacs return home from a three game road trip with two wins over Grande Prairie

The Bonnyville Jr A Pontiacs were on the road this weekend, traveling to Whitecourt and then Grande Prairie, bringing home two of three wins with them. Head Coach of the Pontiacs, Rick Swan, says the club is growing with each game, “there’s a lot of good things to build on, in terms of character.

Whitecourt Friday

Friday evening Whitecourt Wolverines opened scoring in the first from only three shots on net. Colton Meekhof, of the Wolverines, took advantage of an Erik Donald boarding penalty, to make a 1-0 game after 20 minutes of play. Halfway through the second,  Ryan Piche answered back from Luke Israel and Charlie Gawlicki, to tie up the game. But it would be the Wolverines with last laugh, Joseph Nardi with the game winner at 13:51 of the third.

We’re a team that has a lot of growth in front of us. – Rick Swan Head Coach Bonnyville Jr A Pontiacs

Grande Prairie Saturday

The Pontiacs were much more successful on Saturday evening as they played out the first of two games at Revolution Arena. With Sandro Silvestre in net, the Pontiacs opened scoring just a minute and a half into the game, thanks to  Brendan Holterhus; with assists going to Jake Gresh and Carter Rhine.

The Storm would held off the Pontiacs for the remainder of the first, but it wasn’t long into the second that Captain Ryan Symington laid one past GP goalie, Arik Weersink; thanks to veterans Alden Dupuis and Brandon Whistle for the assists. The Storm snuck their one goal of the game past Silvestre on the power play, from Felip Gosselin, to make it a 2-1 game at 7:41.  PJ Marrocco from Jake Gresh, advanced the game to 3-1 and  Erik Donald put in an unassisted goal at 17:56 to close the second period at 4-1 for the Pontiacs.

The third period was filled with familiar faces with goals from, Derek Brown, Marrocco and Holterhus. The Pontiacs took away a 7-1 win over the Storm.

Grande Prairie Sunday

Heading into Sunday’s match up, it can be easy for some teams to become complacent; especially with a big win the night before. “Overall, I think the two games in Grande Prairie created a tremendous amount of offense for our guys,” Coach Swan says the Pontiacs took full advantage of their offensive opportunities following a scoreless first period.

1:41 into the second was all  Derek Brown needed to put on in thanks to a beauty assist from Trygve Many Guns. A minute later Brandon Whistle from Mitchell Oliver made it a 2-0 game and Isaac Saniga closed the third with a goal from Many Guns and Oliver.

The Pontiacs headed into the third with a secure 3-0 lead. However, the Storm put on the pressure and it was an even third. Zac McNeill of the Storm scored while Jared Power was in the penalty box for cross-checking, then Nathan Bizeau took advantage of a slash turned fight to get a goal on another power play to make it a 3-2 game. “For us to be able to not grip our sticks and get back to the framework of our structure was really good for us,” Coach Swan says although the third period wasn’t what he’d like to see, he was impressed with the composure of the Pontiacs and their ability to fight back.

Derek Brown advanced the game to a 4-2 lead from Isaac Saniga and Erik Donald at 12:16. But it was the penalty kill that got the best of the Pontiacs one more time, with an unassisted goal from Michael Clarke while Luke Israel was in the box for interference. PJ Marrocco and Brandon Whistle made up for the PK with two more goals before the end of the game, to finish the Pontiacs 6-3 over the Storm.

Practice this week

“We’re going to be working on our PK,” Coach Swan able to chuckle off the three power play goals. “We need to make sure we can dial in defensively. They had way too many chances; especially in the second and third periods. We need to do a better job communicating and making sure we’re getting to our zones. Talk more and sort things out.”

The Pontiacs are home to the Wolverines on Thursday, 7:30 pm puck drop at the RJ Lalonde Arena. WIN tickets on LCN!