The Bonnyville Pontiacs continue to be a thorn in the side of the Canmore Eagles, ending the Eagles winning streak at four games Friday night, 4-3.
Matthew Hilderman scored the winner at 9:18 of the third period as his shot just snuck thru the pads of Steven Wawryk. This was just after Cohen Daoust scored his second goal of the game on the powerplay to tied the game up at three.
The Eagles battle back from one goal deficits three times in the hockey game but was unable to put the tying goal past Jake Pilon, who won his fifth game of the season.
The Pontiacs opened the scoring with a Connor Nickle power-play goal late in the first period with a rocket of a shot in the high slot. The lead wouldn’t last long as captain Aidan Tkachuk tied it 5:17 into the second with his league leading 13th of the season, assisted by Ryder Dembo and Landon Scott just as the powerplay was expiring.
However, the powerplay struck again for Bonnyville as Maxim Shushkov restored Bonnyville’s lead at 17:04, sending the Pontiacs into the third up 2–1.
Steven Wawryk was sensational in the second period for the Eagles, making highlight reel save after highlight reel save to give the Eagles a chance. He would end the game with 29 stops in a losing effort.
Daoust, the reigning AJHL Player of the Week, needed just 57 seconds to tie it in the third with a short side snipe. Damen Vanderberg put Bonnyville back in front at 5:26 with his team leading 10th of the season, but Daoust answered at 7:57 with his 10th of the season.
Canmore outshot Bonnyville 10–7 in the third, but Jake Pilon finished with 29 saves as the Pontiacs took a 33–32 edge in shots overall. The Eagles went 2-for-5 on the power play, while Bonnyville converted both of its opportunities.
Daoust earned Canmore’s star of the game honours, while Shushkov was named Bonnyville’s star after finishing with a goal and two assists.
The Eagles are back in action tomorrow against the Lloydminster Bobcats. Puck drop is at 7 PM on FloHockey.
