Truro, N.S. (April 8, 2021) – The Edmundston Blizzard have announced the difficult decision to end their 2020-21 season before the start of the Canadian Tire Cup Playoffs. The area surrounding the city of Edmundston and the upper Madawaska region entered the red phase of New Brunswick’s COVID-19 recovery plan on March 25th due to an outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The team has been unable to practice or play games since that time as the case count has continued to climb.
With no timeline for when the region may return to the yellow phase, the end of the regular season next week, and the start of the Canadian Tire Cup Playoffs soon after, the Blizzard recently informed the Maritime Junior Hockey League’s (MHL) Board of Governors of their intention to withdraw from the remainder of the 2020-21 campaign. The team will continue to be a full member of the league, taking part in the MHL Entry Draft this spring and preparing for the 2021-22 season.
“To the players and staff of the Edmundston Blizzard, we thank each and every one of you for your commitment to the 2020-21 season and the sacrifices made to reach this point,” says MHL President Steve Dykeman. “It has not been an easy season for anyone involved. The MHL will continue to support the Edmundston Blizzard organization, as it has all twelve of its member teams, in the weeks and months ahead.”
Edmundston last played on March 21st, their seventh game of the month following a restart of the Eastlink North division. In 19 games, the Blizzard were 10-7-0-2.
With this announcement, Edmundston’s remaining game on the schedule, April 14th in Miramichi, has been cancelled. In addition, the Canadian Tire Cup Playoff structure for the Eastlink North Division is being re-evaluated and any changes will be communicated as soon as possible.
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Media Contact:
Andre Lebel
Governor
Edmundston Blizzard
andrelebel44@gmail.com
James Faulkner
Director of Communications
Maritime Hockey League
jfaulkner@themhl.ca