Apparently, a three-goal lead was going to make the home opener a little too relaxing.

The Bonnyville Sr. Pontiacs put their fans through the full Saturday-night experience at the RJ Lalonde Arena on November 7, building a 3–0 lead, falling behind, then rallying for a 5–4 shootout win over the Paradise Hill Hawks.

Ethan Peake supplied the late equalizer, Maeson Stabbler finished things off in the shootout, and everybody got a little more hockey than they originally signed up for.

When I caught up with Head Coach Corey Wandler afterward, he had plenty of appreciation for the battle — even if surrendering that lead wasn’t exactly drawn up on the whiteboard.

“Obviously, having a three-nothing lead is rolling nice on home ice, and watching it dissolve is obviously not the plan,” Wandler said. “But give credit to our power play, stuck with it.”

Bonnyville got rolling with Devon McCormack’s first-period goal, assisted by Scott Thackeray. Janson Pashniak made it 2–0 in the second, with Christian Foisy and captain Lucas Isley picking up the helpers, before Coltan Buchta extended the lead to three off a setup from Kache Waskahat.

Looking pretty comfortable. Which, in hockey, is usually when you should stop saying that out loud.

Paradise Hill went to work on the power play. Ben Lanfermann and Ted Creech scored before the second intermission, cutting Bonnyville’s lead to 3–2. Matthew Fletcher tied it on another Hawks power play early in the third, then scored again to put the visitors ahead 4–3.

Four unanswered goals. Suddenly, the home opener needed rescuing.

Peake delivered with 2:43 remaining, scoring on the power play from Noah Cook and Thackeray to pull Bonnyville even.

“It was huge because our power play has not been very good here the first handful of games, so they came through at a huge time for us to get it to overtime,” Wandler said.

Neither team settled it in the extra frame. In the shootout, Isley scored, Ethan Woodward made two stops, and Stabbler supplied the finish that sent the Pontiacs home with the win.

Wandler said the bench helped make the call to send Stabbler out.

“You kind of read off the guys what they’re saying, what they’re feeling,” he said. “So yeah, to see that move, that was a beautiful move.”

As for choosing Isley, Wandler had about a decade of familiarity to lean on.

“If there’s a guy you look at to get a goal, you go to him.”

Woodward finished with 31 saves on 35 shots through regulation and overtime. Bonnyville held a 44–35 edge in the team shot totals.

The special teams still gave Wandler something to work on. Paradise Hill went three-for-seven on the power play, while Bonnyville finished one-for-five — although that one certainly picked its moment.

With changing lineups and different penalty-killing combinations early in the season, Wandler said familiarity will be part of the fix.

“It’s always an adjustment on the fly, but you got to put the trust in the guys to think their way through it, and it’s going to come.”

Getting Isley back in the lineup helped the Pontiacs’ depth, with Wandler also liking Pashniak’s work after moving him to centre alongside Isley and Foisy.

Thackeray added two assists, bringing his season total to a team-leading nine points. Wandler’s praise for him went well beyond the scoresheet.

“He’s physical. He can score. He can set up plays. But he just makes everyone around him a little bit better, too, so having him lead the charge like that is huge for our group.”

The win snapped a two-game slide and moved Bonnyville to 2–3. The Pontiacs had fallen 9–2 in Marwayne the night before, with Foisy and Marc Ouellette scoring their goals.

Saturday gave the home crowd a much happier ending, even if it took a few extra grey hairs to get there.

“This game had everything,” Wandler said. “A lot of fun to be a part of.”

Easy to agree with him once that last shootout puck went in.

Up Next for the Seniors

• November 14: in Kitscoty vs Monarchs  8:00PM
• November 21: in Lashburn vs Flyers 8:00PM
• November 27: vs Edam 3 Stars 8:00PM at the RJ Lalonde
• November 28: vs Lashburn Flyers 8:00PM at the RJ Lalonde