Saints Beat Pontiacs 4-2 for 5th Straight Win
By: Adam Kulak
It was an exciting game against the Pontiacs Wednesday night in Bonnyville and this afternoon was not different. It was a tight game all afternoon long, but the Saints would score late and prevail with the 4-2 victory here at the Grant Fuhr Arena. Matt Davis would get his 27th win on the season and Hall, Mitchell, Basnett and Peckford would all find the scoresheet as the Saints continue to roll late in the season.
First Period
It was a good period for the Saints here in the first, but they would find themselves trailing midway through the frame. Lucas Thorne?s shot on net would take a weird bounce and would just get by Matt Davis. Daine Dubois would get a stick on it as the Pontiacs strike first this afternoon.
The Saints threw a lot of rubber at Easton Hesse throughout the first period. Nick Leyer would ring it off the cross bar in tight, Ryan Peckford would get a partial breakaway chance, as well as there were a couple scrambles in the Bonnyville crease. With a couple minutes left in the period, the Saints would come in off a rush and tie this game up.
Nick Leyer, Seth Fyten and Adam Hall would combine for a great rush and Fyten would feed Hall on the cross crease to make it a 1-1 game before the end of the first period. That was a big goal for the Saints to get this game back to square one. They outshot the Pontiacs 19-9 in the period and came so close on multiple occasions. But they stuck with it and we have a tie game going into the middle frame.
Second Period
After no penalties in the first period, the calls started to pile up quite a bit here in the second. The Saints took 4 minor penalties in the period compared to Bonnyville?s one; it would be on one of those powerplays that Bonnyville would take the lead back as Ethan Sundar would jam in the rebound on the doorstep.
The Pontiacs didn?t create a lot of offensive chances in this period, despite 4 powerplays to 1, the Saints held them to just 4 shots through the middle frame. At the other end, the Saints continued to pepper Easton Hesse with shots. They were exiting their zone well in this game and they created a lot of chances off the rush.
Their first goal was off the rush and that?s how they would light the lamp again for their second of the afternoon. In the last minute of the period, who else but Cam Mitchell with a shorthanded goal as he would go post and in on a 2 on 1 to once again tie the game late before the end of the period.
It wasn?t a perfect period for the Saints, they did have a couple breakdowns gave the Pontiacs a few good chances. However, they have been the better team in this game so far and they will need a big third period to walk away with this game.
Third Period
And that is exactly what they did in the final 20 minutes, it was shaky at times, but the Saints continued to control the play throughout the period. They held Bonnyville to only 17 shots this afternoon and 8 shots in the final 40 minutes. They would get an opportunity on the powerplay midway through the period to try and take the lead. They couldn?t create a whole lot on it but a few minutes later, they were able to find the go-ahead goal late.
The Saints loved scoring late period goals in this game, and they would get two more late ones to walk away with the win. Tanner Klassen would find Cole Basnett out front and his shot would squeak through Easton Hesse as the Saints take their first lead of the game with under 5 minutes to play.
Bonnyville would pull the goalie trying to tie this back up, but Ryan Peckford would seal it with the empty netter as the Saints defeat the Pontiacs 4-2. The Saints are finding their consistency over the last few weeks heading down the stretch. The final shots in this game were 50-17, the Saints controlled this game from start to finish and they didn?t give Bonnyville anything outside of the powerplay.
The Saints will hit the road tomorrow morning as they get ready for an afternoon game in Whitecourt to take on the Wolverines. Puck drop is 2:30 PM and you can listen live on the Saints radio network.