ST. STEPHEN, New Brunswick – The perfect start to the Edmundston Blizzard season in the Maritime Junior Hockey League is still intact following a convincing 6-2 victory over the St. Stephen Aces, on Saturday, September 23. The game was played at the Garcelon Civic Center in St. Stephen in front of 742 spectators.
The Blizzard won its first three games on the road. The table is set for the inaugural game at home on September 29.
On Saturday, captain Kyle Ward enjoyed another great night with three goals and two assists. Ward opened the scoring at 7:08 of the first period during a man advantage. Defensemen Nolan Alward and Alexandre Bernier got the helpers. Ward scored in each period of the game. His goal during the second period, at 15:30, following a pass from Logan Johnston, gave the visitors a 3-0 lead. Jeff Akerley had previously beaten the Aces goalie at 7:08 on a play prepared by Patrick Pellerin. With a 3-0 lead, Ward completed his hat trick at the start of the third period (1:38) converting on a superb pass by Johnston.
Alexandre Jacob made it 5-0 at 4:30 with Ward assisting. One would have thought the game was over by then. But the Aces gave hope to their supporters by beating goalkeeper Francis Asselin twice in 18 seconds, the first goal at 12:40 (Ryan MacDonald) and the second at 12:58 (Casey Fox). In a desperate effort, the Aces decided to pull out their goalie in the last minutes. Liam Leonard took the opportunity to score in an empty net on a Kyle Ward pass who completed a fantastic five-point night. Logan Johnston, with two assists, is the only other Blizzard who collected more than one point.
At the final buzzer, the Aces were ahead 34-31 on the shots on goal. Asselin was once again solid in front of the Blizzard net. He shutout Campbellton 3-0 the previous night.
The Blizzard enjoys a few days off to prepare to its first home game at the Palladium of Saint-Jacques on Friday, September 29, at 7:30 pm, against the Amherst Ramblers.
NOTES – Kyle Ward scored in each of the Blizzard’s games this season… Francis Asselin had a 112-minute and 40-second sequence without allowing a goal… A busy Saturday night for the referees who handed 94 penalty minutes during the game including 35 minutes to Keenan Wedge-Joudrey, from the Aces… Yarmouth (4 wins, 0 loss) and Amherst (3 wins, 0 loss) are the two other undefeated teams in the league. Both teams are located in the Nova Scotia EastLink South Division.
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone