Pontiacs suffer collapse as Crusaders mount 4-goal comeback

It was a shocking turn of events. 

The Bonnyville Pontiacs, rolling through the first two periods, ahead by as many as four goals, watched as the Sherwood Park Crusaders scored once in the 2nd period, and four unanswered goals to complete a stunning comeback and win 6-5. 

Sunday afternoon was a key positional game in the AJHL North standings. The Crusaders then leapfrogged the Pontiacs for 3rd place, sweeping three games over the weekend. 

The Pontiacs losing streak extended to five games. 

“We just kind of shot ourselves in the foot,” said assistant coach Connor Cadaret after the game. 

“I think we still had our chances. But then we somehow turned to a 2-on-0 into a penalty kill and couldn’t execute on a couple odd man chances. I think when they brought their number one goalie [Roest] back into the game, it kind of settled things down for them.” 

Bonnyville committed seven straight penalties in the 2nd and 3rd periods, two of which were put behind Bodee Weiss in the comeback. 

After being scored on 21 seconds into regulation, the Yaks settled down, and scored on three rebound opportunities from Ludo Tardif, Matteo Giampa, and Max Seguin, to end former Pontiac Ryan Manzella’s afternoon. 

Trey Funk and Chayce Schmidt extended the lead to 5-1 with 2:25 seconds left in the 2nd period. 

An unsuspecting rush from Crusaders forward Carmelo Crandell was zipped by Weiss’ ear to take only a three goal deficit into the intermission, plus 75 seconds of powerplay time. 

Captain Derek Pys capitalized on the carryover penalty, then Brock Souch and Liam Cox-Smith scored, making it a time game with 16:15 left in regulation. 

It remained square until the Crusaders pressure earned a second chance in the zone, seized by Liam Hauer, whose two goal game gave the Crusaders their 22nd win of the season. 

“We have a lot of character in that room. It’s not because we didn’t work hard, the effort was still there. We just really need to clean up these mistakes that are costing us games,” said Cadaret. 

The self-inflicted wounds, or perhaps better said, inconsistencies in the game were a key factor two days before in Spruce Grove, a 7-4 loss. 

On three separate occasions, Bonnyville created positive momentum with a goal, but surrendered one right back in 70 seconds or fewer. 

The schedule will let up, but not in the next four. 

The Pontiacs host the Spruce Grove Saints for a pair on Friday and Saturday, with the Justin Fontaine jersey retirement happening at 6:45pm on Saturday night. 

Afterwards, they’ll play the Crusaders again on the road, and the Okotoks Oilers as the start of a weekend roadtrip. 

“I think it’s just a mindset thing. I think when you’re you almost got to look past the stretch of games that we’re in and just focus on the moment. Because if you think about the fact that we’ve lost five in a row, when you’re out on the ice, or when something’s going wrong, you’re not going to be able to perform.

“We need to be able to flush out what’s happened in the last few games.”