CALGARY, Alberta – It’s off to a great start for the Edmundston Blizzard!
Captain Philippe Collette scored the winning goal in the 43rd second of overtime, giving the Edmundston Blizzard a 4-3 victory over the Rockland Nationals in Game 1 of the Centennial Cup Canadian Championship round-robin tournament presented Thursday in Calgary, Alberta.
The Nationals (CCHL) controlled the puck early in the overtime period, but as soon as Collette got hold of it at the Blizzard blue line, he skated hard into the opposing zone in a 2-on-1 situation. Rather than passing, he smartly chose to shoot, and the puck slipped under goaltender Benoît Forget’s arm to lift the Blizzard fans from their seats at the Max Bell Centre.
This curtain-raiser win earns the Blizzard two points rather than the three awarded in regulation time. Leading 3-2 with only two seconds left on the clock in the 3rd period, the Nationals tied the score on a rebound from behind the net. Rockland thus escaped with a point for their overtime defeat.
Nervousness was palpable on both sides at the start of the first period, as if the time zone difference seemed to be a factor. But the Blizzard quickly established themselves, taking a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Early goal specialist Carl-Anthony Massé once again set the tone with an extraordinary maneuver, outwitting three players to beat the goalkeeper at 7:10. Then, during a power play at 16:43, the Blizzard unleashed three shots in a row to finally defeat Forget thanks to Émile Fournier.
The Nationals came alive in the second when Josh O’Connor beat goalie Austin Caley with a low shot at 4:41 on a power play. Sixty-five seconds later, Marco Martin restored the Blizzard’s two-goal lead following a three-men forecheck and some brilliant passing. But Rockland struck back again when Joshua Penney beat Caley with a sharp shot towards the top corner at 16:18.
Just as the Blizzard seemed headed for victory, the Nationals pulled their goalie and strategy proved them right when they forced overtime on Jacob Charron’s goal with two seconds left in the third.
Carl-Anthony Massé was named player of the game for the Blizzard.
The Blizzard dominated 37-33 in shots. Caley had some very good sequences at times, thanks to his great reflexes. For Caley, it was his 17th consecutive win since joining the Blizzard in January. He hasn’t lost a game in the blue and white jersey.
The Blizzard finished the season in first place in the Canadian standings. The Nationals took third place after leading the way until the Blizzard took first place in the final week of the season.
Edmundston play their next game on Saturday, May 10, against the 2024 Centennial Cup finalists, the Melfort Mustangs (SJHL). The game kicks off at 3 p.m. New Brunswick time.
The tournament includes the champion teams from all nine Canadian leagues, plus the host team, Calgary. The tournament format consists of two groups of five teams. Each team plays four games in a round-robin format. The top three teams in each group advance to the next round. The quarterfinals will be played on Friday, May 16.
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Photo
Philippe Collette scored the winning goal in overtime for the Blizzard on Thursday in Calgary. Photo archives Percy Picard
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, Communications VP for the Edmundston Blizzard