The Shawville Pontiacs were back in action after a week off in Northern Premier Hockey League (NPHL) regular-season play on Friday night against the Akwesasne Wild, edging out the home team by a score of 6-4.
Since the Pontiacs’ last game, a 5-4 win over Madawaska Valley on Nov. 21, the team acquired a slew of new players, including defensemen Vincent Maisonneuve, Loik Plouffe and Philippe Bureau-Blais as well as forwards Joel Caron-Belleville, Anthony DeLuca and Jonathan Joanette.
Those players made an immediate impact against Akwesasne on Friday night, as DeLuca scored the team’s first goal in the slot to put the visitors up 1-0 – which is where the score would stay until the first intermission.
After Akwesasne scored three of the next four goals in the second period to jump back ahead, Pontiacs forward Raphael Lafontaine managed to sneak one by the goalie to keep the game level at 3-3 after two periods.
Wild player Mathieu Sabourin opened the third period with a goal, but the Pontiacs were undeterred. Unanswered goals from Bureau-Blais (2) and Caron-Belleville (1) ensured the Pontiacs finished on top.
Head coach Darcy Findlay said his new signings wasted no time making their presence known. Caron-Belleville was named first star of the game after posting four points (two goals and two assists), while Bureau-Blais notched two goals and Joanette and DeLuca had a point each. Jacob Roy-Lauzon, who is not a new player, earned third star with 3 assists on the night.
With the win, the Pontiacs improved to eight wins and one loss on the season, good for second place in their division. Top slot currently goes to the Manotick Mariners, who sit with an undefeated 10-0 record.
On Monday, the league announced Findlay was named as the Eastern head coach for the league’s upcoming all-star game and skills competition in Tweed, Ont. on Jan. 7.
“It’s pretty cool to be named head coach of Team East,” said Findlay. “At the end of the day it’s my players that are playing between the whistles and have given our team success, but I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to the experience.”
The player announcements for the All-Star Game will be announced this weekend. Pontiacs goalie Danick Boisvert is second in the Capital division with five wins, while forward Julien Arruda is in a nine-way tie for first place with two game-winning goals.
