EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – For the second season in a row, the Edmundston Blizzard secured first place in the Eastlink North Division when they beat the Valley Wildcats 4-2 on Saturday evening at the Jean-Daigle Centre in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 2,626.
Taking a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes of play, the Blizzard were well on their way to victory. But forward Lucas Byrne, with his 31st and 32nd goals of the season 33 seconds apart (6:28 and 7:01 of the third period), gave Blizzard fans a cold sweat.
Ben Wallace (8th), Carl-Anthony Massé (8th) scored for the Blizzard in the first period. Jérémy Ste-Marie (18th) and Félix Bédard (36th) followed suit in the second.
Goalie Samuel LeBlanc had a very good game in front of the Blizzard cage. He made 20 saves. At the other end, Xavier Farrah was tested 43 times.
Defenseman Michael McQuaid earned first star honors with two assists, followed by Massé (2nd star; 1g, 1a) and Byrne (3rd star, 2g).
The Blizzard total 73 points (36-11-1-0). They have won their last 17 home games, a franchise record in Edmundston. They lead the West-Kent Steamers (31-15-2-0) by nine points. Both teams have four games to play in their regular season. The Steamers will have to keep an eye on the Miramichi Timberwolves, who are just one point behind.
Edmundston will face the Fredericton Red Wings (21-23-2-3) in the first round of the playoffs.
With four games remaining, the Blizzard could lower two team marks, for most wins (38 in 2022-2023) and points (77 in 2019-2020 and 2022-2023).
The Blizzard’s next game is on Sunday, March 3rd (7 p.m.) at Miramichi (29-15-3-2). Both teams are on a five-game winning streak.
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Defenseman Michael McQuaid, from Prince Edward Island, had a strong game on offense with two assists as well as on defense. Photo Percy Picard
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone