A red hot Bonnyville Pontiac powerplay was too much for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons to handle Tuesday night at the Casman Centre as the Yaks took down the MOB 7-4.
The Pontiacs (3-1-1) powerplay was a sizzling 4-8 on the night while the MOB (1-4-0) only managed one goal on their seven opportunities.
?I thought we competed hard, we did a lot of good things, we advanced pucks, we kept the game simple but unfortunately it seemed like every shot they took on the powerplay went in,? said MOB Assistant Coach Mike Brodeur.
After allowing the first goal in the previous four games, the Oil Barons were able to get on the board first when Jonathan Assayag sprung defenceman Ty Ettinger on a breakaway after coming out of the penalty box. It looked like the puck had got away from Ettinger before he dove and swatted the puck around the pad of Easton Hesse.
The Pontiacs powerplay went to work later in the period when defenceman Jeremy Gervais had two shots find the back of the net past Oil Barons starter Chris Curr.
Another powerplay goal 3:41 into the second period put the Pontiacs up 3-1 when Lucas Thorne deposited a rebound.
The Oil Barons were able to fight back and got a pair of goals from Assayag. The first on a powerplay wrister from the right face-off circle and his second on a rebound as he followed up a Lucas Reeves shot that Hesse couldn?t control.
?He?s a very positive kid, he works hard, he wants to learn, he?s a student of the game and he?s always asking questions and he goes above and beyond of what you want and what you need and that?s what you want from the guys especially the older guys,? said Brodeur of Assayag who leads the team with three goals and four points through five games.
The Pontiacs would again go to their powerplay to regain the lead when Alexander Marrocco?s shot fooled Curr to make it 4-3. The Yaks struck on the next shift to open up their two goal lead when Justin Stathopoulos tapped in a pass in front of the MOB goal.
Cam Newton made it 6-3 when he scored just as a Barons penalty was expiring mid-way through the third period.
The MOB got one back when Michael Hodge tipped in an Ettinger point shot for his second goal of the season to cut the lead back to 6-4 with 7:04 remaining.
The Barons had chances late but couldn?t bury and Matthew McKim iced the game with an empty net goal with six seconds remaining.
?I thought we were getting pucks to the net offensively, we were getting to the dirty areas, we did a lot of good things and steps that we didn?t do last weekend so the progress was there, the outcome wasn?t what we deserved. I thought we outplayed them five-on-five, we out chanced them five-on-five the difference was the powerplay and the penalty kill,? said Brodeur.
The MOB have now lost four straight and will head to the AJHL Showcase in Camrose on Friday to take on the reigning National Junior A Champion Brooks Bandits. Puck drop is at 4:30 p.m. and you can listen to the game on Country 93.3 with Taylor Pope. The Barons will then face the host Kodiaks Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
Written by: Taylor Pope, mymcmurray.com
Photo by: Dan Lines