MONDAY -- Congrats Chad Mercier

I got this text message from the Pontiacs head coach at 4:08am this morning:

It's a Boy sunday the 15th 8 lbs 3 oz Mason George Mercier.
Everyone is doing real good.

Congratulations Chad and wife Kim.

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The recruiting class for the 2026 Bonnyville Pontiacs will be a strong one as Kool 101.3 morning man Dean Lee also became a dad, having a son, on Thursday.

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Craig Orfino who had a cup of coffee in Bonnyville with the Pontiacs a couple years ago won the Joan Kobal Memorial for Perseverance, Dedication and Sportsmanship Award as a member of the Lethbridge Hurricanes this year. He was also named the most popular player as voted on by his teammates.

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A shocking upset on Saturday as the University of Wisconsin Superior lost 2-0 to Gustavus Adolphus and were knocked out of the NCAA Div III playdowns. UWS features former Pontiacs Logan Isley and Brayden Kolisniak.

More on the game here.

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Playoff Power Rankings

1. Spruce Grove Saints
2. Grande Prairie Storm
3. Olds Grizzlys
4. Brooks Bandits
5. Camrose Kodiaks
6. Okotoks Oilers

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Play In games are great and should be used in all sports.

Tuesday night in the WHL the Prince Albert Raiders will host the Edmonton Oil Kings in a special tie breaker game with the loser starting their summer early and the winner getting the eighth playoff spot and the right to lose to Calgary in the first round.

And

Tuesday night in Dayton Ohio the NCAA play in game will take place featuring the previously mentioned Morehead State taking on Alabama State for the right to lose to Louisville. For obvious reasons I was going to be cheering for Morehead State until I found out that Alabama State features 7'1 centre Chief Kickingstallionsims. I'm not making that name up. Now I don't know who I want to advance.

Drayton Valley and the Royals should have been given the opportunity for a play in game with the winner getting to play Spruce Grove in a first round of sorts.

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Congratulations Innisfail for your win in the Bantam B female provincials held in Bonnyville over the weekend. It looked like Lethbridge was going to hold on in the final period for the win but a pair of late goals meant a come from behind victory.

Former Pontiacs goalie Shannon Szabados spoke at the tournament's opening ceremonies about the opportunities that are out there in women's hockey now. Tomorrow will likely be another big day for Shannon as Hockey Canada will hold a press conference in Calgary to announce the roster for the 2009 World Championships along with, and maybe more importantly, the players who will be centralized for the 2009-10 season in preparation for the Olympics.

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For those of you who think there are too many injuries in hockey and are obsessed with talking about changes to fighting and body checking there are things that could be worse...

Like the soccer fan in Iraq who went all 'The Last Boyscout' and shot a player who was about to score the game tying goal. "The striker from a local amateur team had only the goalie to beat when a supporter of the rival club shot him in the head."