GRAND FALLS, N.-B. – Forward Émile Fournier stunned the opposing defense once again, scoring his 13th and 14th goals of the season in the final portion of the third period to give the Edmundston Blizzard a 5-3 win Wednesday night in Grand Falls and a 20th triumph in 23 games.
And Fournier chose the best moment to shine. After the Rapids had tied the game 3-3 at 8:16 of the third period, Fournier responded with two goals, his first at 11:20 and his second at 15:15, both on sharp wrist shots.
The 18-year-old from Sainte-Luce, near Rimouski, broke an old record for a Blizzard rookie in the process. It was a fifth two-goal game for Fournier, eclipsing the old mark of four games achieved by Liam Leonard during the Blizzard’s first campaign in 2017-2018. The record for goals in a season by a Blizzard rookie belongs to Alex Arsenault (18 in 52 games in 2019-2020).
The Rapids scored the only goal of the first period, from Jérémy D’Astous (6th).
The Blizzard got going in the second with three unanswered goals. Carl-Anthony Massé (10th), Mathieu Pigeon (3rd) and Justin Hébert (10th) took turns finding the back of the net.
Grand Falls (4-11-0-4) scored twice in the first half of the third period thanks to Nicholas Brennan (4th) and Raphaël Denis (2nd), the latter on a two-men advantage.
Justin Hébert (1g, 1a) and Justin Trottier (2a) rounded out the evening with two points each for the Blizzard.
Edmundston outshot the Blizzard 40-27. Simon Boucher (Blizzard) and Loïc Nadeau (Rapids) were the netminders.
Fournier (1st, Blizzard; 2g), D’astous (2nd, Rapides; 1g, 1a) and Zachary Lessard (3rd, Blizzard) earned the game’s three stars.
The Blizzard (20-2-1-0) will benefit from a few days’ training before visiting the Miramichi Timberwolves (10-8-2-0) on Sunday, November 24 (2 p.m.). The Timberwolves will play two games between now and then.
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Photo
Émile Fournier added two goals in Grand Falls on Wednesday to lead the Blizzard in the goal scoring column. Photo archives Percy Picard
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, communications – Edmundston Blizzard (506) 740-0623