EDMUNDSTON, N.B. – For the second day in a row, the Edmundston Blizzard has won a nail-biting contest.
Trailing 5-4 to enter the third period, the Blizzard hit with lightning speed in the 13th minute to take the lead 6-5 and never looked back afterwards.
It was a second consecutive victory against the Summerside Western Capitals who were beaten 3-2 yesterday. A total of 1,758 spectators witnessed the Blizzard win. In all, the two games on the weekend attracted 4,399 spectators to the Jean-Daigle Centre in Edmundston.
Alexandre Jacob scored the winning goal at 13:59 as the visitors were getting a very rough ride by the Blizzard continuous pressure. At 13:07, Alexandre Bernier scored his first goal of the season to tie the score to 5-5. Bernier said after the game that his shot was redirected by Jacob and that he (Jacob) should have been credited with the goal.
The Blizzard came out strong, scoring two quick goals in the opening frame. Kyle Ward, at 3:17, and Jeff Akerley, at 4:19, shook the strings before Brodie MacArthur narrowed the gap to one goal by beating goaltender Greg Moon, of the Blizzard, at 13:14. Ward got his second of the afternoon at 13:14 on the power play. With nine seconds left, Josh MacDonald allowed the Western Capitals to retreat to the locker room with a one-goal deficit (3-2).
In the second period, Jesse Annear stunned the Blizzard defense by scoring at 1:33 and 4:54, which chased goalkeeper Moon who gave up his place to Francis Asselin who did well afterwards. While Summerside was ahead 4-3, Liam Leonard put the two teams dead-even with a shorthanded goal at 19:45. Blizzard players once again lacked concentration at the end of the period and saw the Western Capitals score with two tenths of a second remaining thanks to Austin Taylor’s goal.
In the third, the Blizzard scored twice to earn the victory. Edmundston completely dominated the third period by registering 15 shots against 3. In total, the Blizzard fired 31 shots against goaltender Rett Rook. The Western Capitals collected 29 shots.
First star of the game, Bernier completed the afternoon with three points (1g, 2a). Top Maritime Junior Hockey League scorer TJ Shea had three assists to bring his points total to 28 in 15 games.
“Once again we played catch-up hockey,” said Bernier. The crowd was behind us and this motivated us to regroup more. We showed character during the weekend and we never panicked even though we were trailing in those games. ”
After the weekend meetings, the Blizzard (11w, 3l) increased its lead on top of the EastLink North Division. Edmundston leads the St. Stephen Aces (7w, 9l) by eight points.
QUICK NOTES – Before the game, Kyle Ward was honored by the Blizzard organization. Selected as the MHL’s first star of September, Ward was awarded the Jessome’s La Source du sport/Sports Experts trophy for the Blizzard September’s Player of the Month.
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone