Bonnyville Pontiacs take on Lloyd Bobcats in renewal of regional rivalry

It’s playoff time for the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs and the team is feeling good entering their first round matchup vs the Lloyd Bobcats.

Historically, this has not been much a rivalry in years. Since the 2018-19 season, the Pontiacs are 22-1-1 against the Bobcats, including winning five of six matchups this season.

Coming off a 36 win campaign, the Yaks are lead by the third highest leading scorer in the league with Matteo Giampa, the AJHL Rookie of the Year in Nico Beaudoin, and captain Trey Funk, who was named the AJHL’s Most Dedicated Player.

Just once before have the Pontiacs and Bobcats met in the AJHL playoffs. That came in 2014-15, when the Yaks upset the Bobcats in the 2nd round to advance to their only North Final appearance.

This is the 3-6 matchup in the division, the same matchup the Yaks had in the postseason last year, where they lost to the Whitecourt Wolverines in six games.

Bonnyville nearly stole the 2nd seed from the Whitecourt Wolverines, who had to come back in the 3rd period against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons to clinch the spot.

Game 1 is tonight and the team has a guaranteed $5000 50/50 jackpot. The puck drops at 7:00pm.

Top Scorers 

• Matteo Giampa – 27G, 65A, 92pts
• Nicolas Beaudoin – 40G, 34A, 74pts
• Max Seguin – 26G, 35A, 61pts
• Jack Budd – 22G, 29A, 51pts
• Trey Funk – 22G, 24A, 46pts

Vs.

• Brock Krulicki – 28G, 21A, 49pts
• Matthew Swanson – 24G, 24A, 48pts
• Jordan Borysiuk – 12G, 25A, 37pts
• Rylan Ringor – 12G, 24A, 36pts
• Caden Cabana – 11G, 23A, 34pts

Max Seguin commits to Princeton

In the days following the Yaks season finale win vs the Grande Prairie Storm, rookie forward Max Seguin announced a commitment to the Princeton Tigers, just the second to that NCAA school in franchise history.

Seguin impressed in a major way, never missing a game after being acquired a week into the AJHL season. He finished second in rookie goals league-wide — only behind teammate Nicolas Beaudoin — and 4th in rookie points.

“My journey so far has highlighted the importance of appreciating the moment. So many amazing people have supported me along the way including my coaches, billets, and the yaks management team.” said Seguin in a press release.

“The Pontiacs organization has provided me the opportunity to further develop my skills and I have been fortunate to play with fantastic teammates throughout the course of the year.”

Giampa snubbed?

While Matteo Giampa did not win the MVP or Top Forward award, everyone knows that he has been the straw that stirs the drink offensively for the Pontiacs this year.

Finishing with the most assists in the league, 3rd most in team history with 65, Giampa may have lost both awards to Brooks Bandits forward Aidan Fink, but his impact at even-strength was unmatched across the league.

“It was a surprise and I was disappointed,” said head coach Mario Pouliot about Giampa coming up empty on hardware, determined by team votes.

“For me, no doubt, Giampa is probably one of the best players in the league. I have a lot of respect for him. He’s one of the elite players in the AJHL and especially when we look closely at his stats. I believe he was 70 per cent or 80 per cent of his points at 5-on-5. I know Fink is a good player, and I don’t disagree with the selection, but when we look closely at his stats, more than 50 points on the powerplay.

“It’s very disappointing for Matteo to not win MVP or Top Forward, it’s something we can’t control. But for me I want to see him be one of the best players in the playoffs. That would be good compensation.”

Notes: Hipkin nears return, lines blended

Pouliot wanted to see different combinations of forward groupings in the final games of the regular season, mixing Giampa, Beaudoin, Funk, Seguin, and Tardif, around intermittently.

Cole Hipkin, who has not played since Feb. 7, could return to action to solidify the top-6.

Forward Chayce Schmidt will be playing a hometown series. The Lloydminster native hopes to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in his AJHL career.

Conversely, the shoe is on the other foot for Caden Cabana. Since being acquired by the Bobcats from the Saints, the 2003-born Bonnyville product has posted 18 points in 23 games played with his new club.

The Bonnyville Pontiacs have lost two straight first-round playoff matchups, dating back to 2019-20.

Don’t expect many powerplays in this series. The Yaks for the second year in a row had the fewest powerplay opportunities in the league with 241 and the Bobcats had the third fewest. Both teams’ penalty kill hit their stride to finish the season, with Bonnyville sitting 5th and Lloydminster sitting 8th.

Schedule  

Bonnyville Pontiacs (3) vs Lloydminster Bobcats (6)
Bonnyville (0) vs Lloydminster (0)
Game 1	Mar 10	Lloydminster at Bonnyville 7:00 PM MST
Game 2	Mar 11	Lloydminster at Bonnyville 7:00 PM MST
Game 3	Mar 14	Bonnyville at Lloydminster 7:00 PM MDT
Game 4	Mar 15	Bonnyville at Lloydminster 7:00 PM MDT
* Game 5	Mar 17	Lloydminster at Bonnyville 7:00 PM MDT
* Game 6	Mar 19	Bonnyville at Lloydminster 5:00 PM MDT
* Game 7	Mar 21	Lloydminster at Bonnyville 7:00 PM MDT

You can listen to every Bonnyville Pontiacs playoff game live on lakelandconnect.thedev.ca/pontiacs.