Yaks bounce back, split opening weekend

While the packed home opener left everyone with a sour taste in their mouths, in under 24 hours the Bonnyville Pontiacs showed the signs of the team that has fans excited. 

 

The Yaks never got on track and seemed nervous as the Drumheller Dragons scored three 1st period goals and nullified any chances of a comeback, as they controlled a road victory 5-1. 

 

Fast forward to the visiting Calgary Canucks, where the Pontiacs were much more physically engaged, broke the game open in the 2nd period, and let Bodee Weiss shut the door for a 5-0 shutout victory. 

 

“I thought the boys had a nice bounceback,” said assistant coach Ryan Blocha. 

 

Head coach Mario Pouliot described the opener as a bit of a wakeup for the newcomers and veterans alike. The Pontiacs were just not good enough in all phases of the game. 

 

The lone bright spot was Tyler Blocha, who potted his first goal as a Pontiac almost 11 minutes into the opening frame to slice the game to a 2-1 deficit. The problem was that 36 seconds later, Ryan Henderson extended the Dragons lead back to two. 

 

Blocha has shown some offensive flair through his first two appearances. Nicolas Beaudoin twice set him up for offensive opportunities, which he made no mistake on. 

 

“It was a special moment for sure,” said Tyler Blocha. “I remember being a young kid watching the Pontiacs and always wanting to grow up and wear that jersey and last night getting the chance to do that was pretty special.” 

 

Ludo Tardif banged home the opening goal early in the 2nd vs the Canucks, one of two goals his line with Luka Sukovic and Max Seguin created on the night. 

 

Seguin was juggled to play with those two, and Brayden Vandenbilche moved alongside Beaudoin and Blocha, and the move seemed to work. 

 

After Blocha’s 2-0 goal, Jonas Schmidt, who had four assists in the exhibition season, was rewarded for his hard work. In just his second AJHL game, the 18-year-old from Stratford, Ontario, was Johnny-on-the-spot to extend the lead 3-0, and earn his 1st goal. 

When called upon, Weiss was there. He looked far more comfortable in the blue paint en route to his third career regular season shutout. 

Now sitting 1-1 on the year, the Yaks finish up their homestand tonight against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons (1-1), who are coming off of an upset on the road of the Spruce Grove Saints. 

Quick facts

• Heading into Friday, the Yaks were 8-2 in their last 10 home openers (excluding the shortened 2020-21 season)
• Nine Pontiacs made their AJHL debuts this weekend 
• Assistant coaches Darick Ste-Marie and Ryan Blocha earned their first wins behind the bench on Saturday.
• Bonnyville native Caden Cabana was named captain of the Lloydminster Bobcats, and led the way with two goals in a pair of wins for the ‘Cats.
• The last time the Pontiacs and Oil Barons on Jan. 1, there was an old school donnybrook that saw a series of fights and suspensions. We’ll see if there’s more bad blood on Tuesday night.

You can listen to play by play voice Michael Menzies every Pontiacs game, all season, on lakelandconnect.net and lakelandconnect.mixlr.com.