CAMPBELLTON, New Brunswick – Alex Arsenault has a sense of drama. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the 3-on-3 overtime period, he took advantage of two Campbellton Tigers players retreating to their bench for a change as he skated as fast as he could to the opposing zone. On a 1-on-1 rush, he used the defenseman as a screen to beat goalkeeper Tristan Gray with a wrister. There was only 23 seconds left on the clock at the time of this masterful goal, which gave the Edmundston Blizzard a 6-5 win in front of 1,168 stunned spectators at the Campbellton Memorial Civic Centre.
Arsenault probably thought his first goal of the night at 15:42 of the third period would be enough, but the Tigers fought back to tie the game 5-5 at 16:45.
Chad Wilson and Mitchell McLeod also scored two goals each. McLeod and Arsenault added an assist each. Solid performances also from defenseman Alex Lavoie and forward Paul Leroux who had their best career game for points in the MHL with three assists each.
The Tigers (10-9-1-0) looked sharp when they took a 2-0 lead in the first period. But the Blizzard climbed the hill gradually before playing cat and mouse with the Tigers, both teams trading goals.
William Basque, Charles-William Gagné, Maxime Charest, Frédéric Castonguay and Kyle Petten beat Antoine Lyonnais, who faced 40 shots from the Tigers. Gray received 37 pucks.
Arsenault (1st), Basque (2nd) and Leroux (3rd) earned the stars of the game.
The Blizzard (14-6-0-1) returns home and will host the Truro Bearcats (6-9-1-4) on Saturday at 7:30 pm.
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Photo
Alex Arsenault (27) scored the winning goal in overtime in Campbellton. Photo archives Digiphoto
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone