NEW GLASGOW, Nova Scotia – The Edmundston Blizzard scared the Pictou County Weeks Crushers by forcing the overtime, but the local team managed to win 5-4 on Thursday in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
Trailing 4-1 almost halfway through the third period, the Blizzard pulled a rabbit out of his hat, scoring three unanswered goals to tie things up to 4-4. Marc-Antoine Couture (8:48), Gabriel Vanier (10:10) and Sam King (18:31) scored back to back to bring both teams to a deciding 3-on-3 overtime.
The Blizzard got the first real chance in overtime. It was finally Barrett Dachyshyn (pronounced “Decision” in English) who had the last word.
This precious point by the Blizzard, which certainly had the taste of a moral victory, allows the team to reduce to a meager point its magic number for a playoff’s participation and to two points to confirm its third position in the EastLink North division standing of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. The Blizzard will be able to do both on Friday evening (7:30 pm) in Amherst when Ryan Salvis’s squad clashes against the Ramblers.
Although they generally dominated the pace of the game, Blizzard players saw the Weeks Crushers stun Edmundston’s defense. Kevin Mason, twice, and Sam Meisenheimer brought the score to 3-0 in favor of the Crushers midway through the opening period. Maxime Grandmaison reduced the gap to two goals by beating Andrew MacLeod at 13:32.
Only one goal was scored in the middle frame. Evan Gallant reinstated Weeks Crushers’ three-goal lead by scoring at 2:17.
The Blizzard (22-16-5, 49 pts) fired 33 shots. Pictou County (20-17-2-4, 47 pts) had 25 shots toward goalkeeper Ewan MacDonald.
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Photo
Sam King forced extra time by scoring at 18:31 of the third period. Photo archives Digiphoto
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell