After an unprecedented season, the Bonnyville Pontiacs have wrapped up their 2020-21 season. The news comes with the latest announcement from the AJHL that the league will wrap up gameplay on May 9th. The Pontiacs are currently on pause from being deemed a close contact to the Whitecourt Wolverines who received a positive case after the weekends matchup.
This year felt like two seasons made into one with our original group playing 7 exhibition games and 4 regular season games before being shut down with provincial restrictions said Pontiacs Assistant General Manager Neil Langridge. We lost a total of 8 roster players from our first group over the break but we worked diligently to attract new young talent to the organization for the second series of games. The team ended on a high note winning 4 in a row and capturing points in the last 7 games of the year. “Although not the season anyone had envisioned this young group worked extremely hard and were just hitting stride when the news broke,” said Langridge.
The Pontiacs organization would like to acknowledge a handful of individuals and businesses who donated time and money to ensure the Team was able to operate in a very challenging year both economically and socially. “Without the ability to have fans in the stands to acknowledge all of the unbelievable contributions made by our corporate sponsors, the community of Bonnyville has continued to amaze me with their dedication and devotion to ensuring our Jr A hockey is here for years to come. The majority of our sponsors stood by our side through thick and thin regardless of how successfully their business was running. I just can’t say enough about this community and it’s supporters,” addressed Langridge.
A special thanks needs to go out to our billet families who opened their homes up to our young players in such trying and uncertain times. Without their generosity the organization would be no more. Our next thanks needs to go out to amour game-day volunteers who continued to come to the rink every game night and ensure the operation of the games with flawlessly. Another special thanks needs to go out to the entire Staff at the Bonnyville C2 Centre. With the ever changing schedule and demands the C2 staff were exemplary day after day providing us great customer service to ensure all of our needs could be met while ensuring a safe and healthy facility for its users. A special thanks to our team of health nurses who donated their time for all of our weekly Covid testing and also our amazing staff who had new regulations daily to adhere to while ensuring a safe and healthy environment for our athletes. Our season would have not been possible without the tremendous amount of work by the AJHL and league staff working tirelessly with the Alberta Government and Health officials to obtain the exemptions needed to push through the pandemic.
On a special note the organization would like to recognize the contributions from our 3 graduating players who stuck with the team for the past 2-3 seasons. Their dedication to leave the organization and jersey in a better place then when they arrived was noticeable every day and they will leave a lasting impression on the team. Easton Hesse, Jaden York and Josh Kroon thank you for your years of service!
On a final note to all of our fans, sponsors, billets, volunteers and patrons the Bonnyville JR A Pontiacs organization want to thank everyone for the continued support. The Pontiacs will be entering into their 30th anniversary season coming up in 2021-22 and have big plans to celebrate. Please stay tuned to our media platforms for what will be a Pontiacs season to remember. Everyone Stay Safe and we will see you at the rink soon!
