EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – The Edmundston Blizzard picked up where they left off last season. In their season opener, the Blizzard crushed the Amherst Ramblers, winning 10-2 in front of a crowd of 2,328 spectators at the Jean-Daigle Centre.
After the pre-game festivities, which included the raising of the 2024-2025 season and playoff championship banners, the Blizzard had a walk-in-the-park evening against their opponents. For the first time, the Blizzard scored ten goals to start their season, the ninth in their history in Edmundston. It was certainly a nice gift for the Blizzard’s new head coach, Michael Ward.
Darien Thomson stole the show by scoring his first career hat trick in his 58th game in a Blizzard uniform. Defenseman Lucas Fortin scored twice. Zachary Robichaud, another defenseman, had a goal and an assist, as did teammates Alex Thibault, François-Xavier Mercier, and William Labranche. Charles-Éric Tremblay also found the back of the net for the Blizzard. Noah Breau had two assists in the win.
Anthony Morin and Elliot Wright scored for the Ramblers, who nevertheless dominated in shots on goal (28-25). With a little more luck, they could have made the game closer. The Amherst players hit the post three times behind goalie Cédric Massé, who made a successful season start with the Blizzard.
The Blizzard were leading 2-1 and 7-1 after the first two periods.
Thomson (1st), Labranche (2nd), and Massé (3rd) earned the three stars of the game.
The Blizzard will play their next game on Sunday, September 14 (3 p.m.) in Grand Falls when they face the Rapids, who easily defeated the Ramblers 6-1 on Friday night.
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Photo
Darien Thomson goes straight for the net on this breakaway and scores his second goal of the game at 15:50 of the second period. He finishes the night with a hat trick. Photo Percy Picard
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, communications – Edmundston Blizzard (506) 253-7741