Facing playoff elimination in their own barn on Sunday evening, the Shawville Pontiacs couldn’t quite get the job done, losing a 6-3 decision to the Madawaska Valley Wolves.
The teams played on Friday in Barry’s Bay in what was the first game of their first-round playoff series. The Pontiacs couldn’t get the win on the Wolves’ home turf, losing by a score of 4-0.
Returning home for Game 2 of a three-game series, Findlay told his team to leave it all out there on the ice in what could be his team’s final game of the season.
“Obviously our backs were to the wall, so we weren’t holding anything back,” he said. “It was part of our gameplan [ . . . ]just play with speed, take your chances, and take the high risk play if it comes to you.”
When game time approached on Sunday, the Shawville stands were packed to the gunwales, fans ready to cheer on their team for one more game.
But it didn’t take long for the raucous energy to leave the arena, as the visitors put on the pressure. The Wolves peppered Pontiacs goalie Danick Boisvert with 17 shots in the opening period, resulting in two goals from Liam Poirier and Ethan Pegg.
The Pontiacs got one back late in the period from Jean-Philippe Caron, but it wasn’t enough to stop the attack. A faceoff in the Wolves’ offensive zone saw Poirier squeak another one by Boisvert with less than a second remaining in the period.
The second period saw the Pontiacs get a handful of quality chances on goal. One shot hit the crossbar, landing just in front of the goal line. Another was stopped point-blank by the Wolves netminder. Findlay told THE EQUITY after the game his team just didn’t seem to get the lucky bounces like their opponents did.
“We had so many chances to score. Pucks are on goal lines, pucks are sitting beside the post and in the crease. We just couldn’t find a way to get it in the back of the net [ . . . ] and then he scored with 0.2 seconds left in the first. But that’s just the way the game goes,” Findlay said.
The score 4-2 going into the third period, the Pontiacs still had a comeback in their sights. But a total of thirteen penalties handed down to both teams in the period seemed to distract from the mission, Findlay said.
“They obviously had a gameplan to crash and bang on us and to try to wear us down and get in the head of our younger guys [ . . . ] It just buys time for their top guys to rest a little bit,” he said.
The Pontiacs pulled their goalie late in the third in hopes of levelling the score, but it was the Wolves that would get the final dagger. Devin Campbell launched an empty-netter from the opposite blue line with just over two minutes remaining to put the game out of reach.
Findlay said the Wolves’ physical style of game was hard for his younger team to compete with, and that their opponents’ experience shone through.
“When they have their 20 guys there, they’re a very good team. And they’re a veteran team with OHL experience, NCAA experience, and they have an exretemely strong top eight or nine guys,” he said.
After being an offensive-minded team for most of the year, he said his team struggled offensively down the stretch. He said that on Sunday his team really missed the presence of Jean-Robin Mantha, who suffered a season-ending injury three weeks ago.
“That really did set us back a bit. We struggled to move pucks, [ . . . ] we tried to be a bit too individual down the stretch and some guys they went a bit dry,” he said.
He said despite the loss, the season was a successful first year back in Shawville with a young team that is full of promise.
“We had a great group. They all had fun, and they are very young, so it gives them a little bit of experience,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to bringing the team back next season.
He thanked everyone from the ticket takers to the score clock operators, to anyone else who has helped run the team this season.
“We had great fan support throughout the year. Our sponsorships, the local businesses were great to us, and we really can’t thank them enough. This wouldn’t operate without our sponsors and our fans.”
