EDMUNDSTON, N.B. – When you face an opponent who has more points in the standings than you do, you certainly expect a hotly contested game. However, the opposite happened when the Edmundston Blizzard literally tore apart the West Kent Steamers’ defense, winning 12-1 in front of 2,474 fans at the Jean-Daigle Centre on Saturday night.
Nothing foreshadowed such dominance by the Blizzard, which had a slim 1-0 lead after the first 20 minutes. Six unanswered goals in the second period quickly sank the Steamers. The Blizzard even built a 12-0 lead before Edmundston goalie Olivier St-Onge lost his shutout with 1:27 left in the game.
Linemates Darien Thomson (33rd and 34th, 4 assists), Émile Fournier (17th and 18th, 3 assists) and Michael Derbidge (6th, 3 assists) impressed with a combined 15 points. Émile Fournier, who registered his 100th point in the Blizzard uniform in the first period, was named the game’s first star. The second star went to Thomson and the third to Derbidge.
William Labranche (24th, 25th, 26th, 1 assist), Justin Trottier (10th), Noah Larochelle (15th), François-Xavier Mercier (4th), and Charles-Éric Tremblay (14th) also found the back of the net for the Blizzard (24-15-2-2 = 52pts), who are now three points behind the co-leaders in the Eastlink North division, the Steamers (24-12-4-3 = 55pts) and the Chaleur Lightning (26-14-2-1 = 55pts).
Goaltender Olivier St-Onge, who earned an assist, lowered his goals-against average to 2.72. Only Austin Sanchez (7th) beat him with a sharp shot late in the third frame. Sanchez continues to perform well against the Blizzard, against whom he has scored four goals this season.
The Blizzard outshot the Steamers 49-22. Steamers starting goalie Xavier Farrah was replaced by Olivier Bacon after conceding a fifth goal in the second period.
The Blizzard will enjoy a few hours of rest, as will the Chaleur Lightning, who lost 4-2 on Saturday night in Grand Falls (23-15-5-1 = 52 points). The Blizzard and Lightning will face off on Sunday, February 8, at 3 p.m. at the Jean-Daigle Centre. Due to Campbellton’s loss on Saturday, Chaleur is the first team in the North Division to qualify for the playoffs.
NOTES: The Blizzard tied its record for most goals scored in a game. On February 11, 2022, they defeated the Timberwolves in Miramichi by the same score (12-1). The Blizzard’s 12 goals were a home game record. The previous record was 10 goals (10-2 against Fredericton on March 14, 2024, 10-3 versus West Kent on February 1, 2025, and 10-2 against Amherst on September 13, 2025). With his six points on Saturday, Darien Thomson moved into second place in the MHL scoring race. He has 62 points (34g, 28a), 9 points behind the leader, Anthony Gaudet (20g, 51a). Thomson shares the top spot in goals scored with Ben Cross. The two will face off on Sunday at the Jean-Daigle Centre… Darien Thomson became the first player to record six points in a game at the Jean-Daigle Centre. The team record of seven points in a game belongs to Brock McLeod (3g, 4a), who achieved the feat in Miramichi on January 11, 2020… With 50 points in 29 games, William Labranche is the player with the best points-per-game average this season in the MHL (1.72).
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Photo
Captain Émile Fournier had the best game of his junior career with five points on Saturday night at the Jean-Daigle Centre. Photo by Percy Picard.
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, communications – Edmundston Blizzard (506) 253-7741