EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – Aaron Brown scored his first hat trick of his young junior A hockey career when he led the Edmundston Blizzard to an easy 9-2 win over the Valley Wildcats on Saturday night in front of 2,801 fans at the Jean-Daigle Centre of Edmundston.
The Blizzard literally smashed the Wildcats who had a very young lineup, many of whom were affiliated players. The Blizzard’s dominance was such that the team got 58 shots on goal against only 19 for the Wildcats (6-33-4, 16 pts).
Blizzard’s first draft pick in the last Maritime Junior A Hockey League draft, Brown, 17, scored two goals in the final twenty minutes to complete his hat trick and received the puck in souvenir from a teammate.
Logan Johnston, who made a return to action after a two-game absence, scored twice. Cameron Scott (1-1), Jean-Maxime Bond (1-1), Dallas Maurovic (1-0), Félix Rioux (1-0), Marc-Antoine Couture (0-2), Aleck Forcier (0-2), Tommy Bertrand (0-2), Maxime Grandmaison (0-2) and Gabriel Vanier (0-2) also contributed to the Blizzard offense whose magic number to get a playoff spot is now two.
Francis Asselin was the goalie for the Blizzard (22-15-4, 48 pts).
The Blizzard will be in Campbellton on Monday, February 18, at 2 pm to face the Tigers on Family Day. This game will serve as preparation for the EastLink North division semifinal series which will begin in mid-March. It is mathematically almost certain that the Blizzard and the Tigers will face each other in the playoffs.
– 30 –
Photo
Aaron Brown of Timberlea, Nova Scotia, scored three goals to earn the first star of the game on Saturday night.
– 30 –
Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell