SUMMERSIDE, Prince Edward Island – Philippe Collette is the man of the hour for the Edmundston Blizzard! Well positioned in front of the net, the Saint-Antoine forward received a brilliant pass from Jérémy Duguay and unleashed a wrist shot that left no chance for Chad Arsenault to give the Blizzard a 3-2 win at 6:01 of the first overtime period on Monday night at the Credit Union Centre in Summerside.
Mission accomplished for the Blizzard as they sweep the best-of-seven Eastlink North Division final of the MHL Metalfab Cup. To defeat the Western Capitals, their bête noire for several seasons without their top scorer, required a lot of effort, sacrifice and concentration from all the players of the Blizzard who reached the final for the second time in their young six-year history in Edmundston. The Blizzard will face the Yarmouth Mariners who will have home ice advantage as the Nova Scotia team has maintained the best record in the league this season.
Just like the previous day’s game, the Blizzard built up a good lead, forcing their opponent to step up their game. Just as he had done 24 hours earlier, Tristan Fortin opened the scoring at 10:54 of the first period with a nice breakthrough on net and beat Chad Arsenault with a backhand shot. Well fed by Philippe Collette, Jérémy Duguay made it 2-0 at 39 seconds of the second period.
The Western Capitals never gave up. They got both of their goals on deflections, the first by Isaac Wilson at 13:26 of the second period and the second by Ed McNeill at 14:40 of the third.
The Blizzard could have scored more but were frustrated many times by goaltender Chad Arsenault. Thomas Boucher was once again spectacular in front of the Blizzard cage. You could certainly say that this was a goaltending series.
The Blizzard dominated 39-27 in shots. The three stars of the game went to 20-year-old players from the Western Capitals, certainly a gesture of solidarity and gratitude. These players are Ed McNeill (1st star), Will Proud (2nd star) and Marc Richard (3rd star).
Edmundston and Yarmouth will be facing each other for the first time in the playoffs since the spring of 2018. The Blizzard won the final series 4-2 at that time. The schedule for the finals will be announced later.
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Photo
Philippe Collette certainly scored the most important goal of his junior career when his sharp shot eliminated the Summerside Western Capitals in overtime Monday night. Photo archives Percy Picard
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone