EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – Jérémy D’Astous completely stunned the Pictou County Weeks Crushers’ defense on Saturday night when he tallied three goals and an assist, propelling the Edmundston Blizzard to a 6-3 win in front of a noisy crowd of 2,884 spectators at the Jean-Daigle Centre.
The Blizzard thus took an important 2-0 lead in the Metalfab MHL Cup best-of seven final. Rather quiet in the first two rounds, the pride of Saint-Eugène-de-Ladrière, Québec, amassed 5 goals and 2 assists in two games against the Weeks Crushers. It’s in the big moments that great players rise to the occasion!
Carl-Anthony Massé, with three assists, was another who gave Pictou County defensemen headaches, as did Darien Thomson and Philippe Collette, with a goal and an assist apiece. Rearguard Jake MacDonald picked up two assists.
Unsurprisingly, the Weeks Crushers only responded with their first offensive line, who probably played more than half the game. Lucas Canning (2g, 1a) and Logan O’Neil (1g, 2a) were the visitors’ best performers.
The game was played in three waves. While the first period belonged completely to the Blizzard, who built up a 3-0 lead, the second saw the Weeks Crushers bounce back with three goals (including two in 28 seconds) to the Blizzard’s one. After 40 minutes of play, the Blizzard had a fragile one-goal lead (4-3).
However, the Blizzard came back with a vengeance in the third period against the visibly exhausted Weeks Crushers. D’Astous, with his third goal of the game at 5:47, then Collette, at 7:37, extinguished any hope of a comeback for the Crushers.
For the second consecutive game, Jérémy D’Astous earned the game’s first star. Never before had a Blizzard player earned this honor in two consecutive playoff games. The second star went to Darien Thomson and the third to Carl-Anthony Massé.
Both teams will rest for the next three days. The series continues Wednesday and Thursday in New Glasgow for games 3 and 4. Both games start at 7 p.m.
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Photo
Jérémy D’Astous is all smiles after his first goal gave the Blizzard a 2-0 lead at 16:57 of the first period. And what can we say about the crowd’s reaction, cheering for D’Astous! Photo Percy Picard
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, communications co-ordinator – Edmundston Blizzard – 506 740-0623 – (cell.)