SUMMERSIDE, Prince Edward Island – The big day has finally arrived, and the Edmundston Blizzard has been waiting for it for a long time. The Blizzard will be in Summerside tonight to kick off one of the 4 of 7 semi-final series in the MHL’s Eastlink North Division. Puck drops at 7 p.m. at Credit Union Place. Both teams will return to the rink for the second game on Sunday, March 27 (7 p.m.), still in Summerside.
The wait will have been long for the Blizzard and its supporters. The Blizzard’s last playoff game was played three years ago, on March 23, 2019 in Campbellton. The pandemic forced the cancellation of the playoffs for the Blizzard during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons. In his third campaign as head coach of the team, Emery Olauson will taste his first playoff game behind the Edmundston bench.
Third in the overall final rankings of the Canadian Junior Hockey League, the Western Capitals (31-4-1-2) are seen as favorites. But the Blizzard (21-11-1-4) gave them a hard time in their last meeting on March 19 in Summerside. The Blizzard lost 3-1 but clearly dominated in the third period.
Capitals and Blizzard met five times during the season and Summerside won every game, including a shootout win at Center Jean-Daigle. However, the games were relatively close in scoring (3-2, 5-4, 5-3, 4-1, 3-1).
After the weekend games, the two teams will play games 3 and 4 in Edmundston on Thursday, March 31 (8:30 p.m.) and Friday, April 1 (7:30 p.m.).
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone