FREDERICTON, New Brunswick – The clutch man in late games, Dominic LeBlanc, rose to the occasion once again on Thursday night at the centre Grant-Harvey Centre. His goal with 1:09 remaining in the third period gave the Blizzard a 2-1 victory that eliminated the Fredericton Red Wings in four games.
The game was similar in many points to the previous one, with the Red Wings battling desperately to extend their season. Body checks were numerous, and the Blizzard managed to hold off Fredericton’s dangerous forwards.
The home team struck first, at 18:43 of the middle period. Captain Cam Thomson (1st) beat goalkeeper Nicholas Sheehan. The Wings thought they could go back to the dressing room with a one-goal lead, but Jérémy Fortin (1st) replied 27 seconds later (19:10).
The more the game progressed, the more confident the Blizzard became. With 2:59 remaining in the third, a double minor penalty forced both teams to play four-on-four. That’s when the Blizzard clearly showed their dominance, leading to the goal by Dominic LeBlanc (6th), who headed for the net after sniffing out a pass he was about to receive from Jérémy Ste-Marie. LeBlanc grabbed the pass with his stick and redirected the puck behind Yacine Chemrouk.
LeBlanc had done the trick against the Wings on Tuesday in Edmundston, tying the game 1-1 with 17.7 seconds left in the third and then putting the game away in overtime.
The Blizzard dominated 44-31 in shots. Both goaltenders put in another solid performance, earning them the first two stars of the contest, the first to Sheehan and the other to Chemrouk. LeBlanc earned the third.
Blizzard fans were once again numerous and noisy at the Fredericton amphitheatre. No one will regret the trip in difficult road conditions.
The Blizzard players return to Edmundston and will enjoy a long wait as their next opponents won’t be known for more than a week. The Miramichi-West-Kent series is in its early stages due to a delay caused by a serious injury to a Miramichi player. West-Kent has a 1-0 lead and the two teams meet again on Friday evening.
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Photo
Dominic LeBlanc scored his third winning goal of the playoffs on Thursday night in Fredericton. For fans of statistics, the Blizzard record for a single playoff season is six, held by Kyle Ward during the Blizzard’s first playoff championship win in 2018. Photo archives Percy Picard
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone