Kyle Ward scored the Blizzard’s three goals on Thursday in Ottawa. Photo archives Digiphoto
OTTAWA, Ontario – By losing 6-3 Thursday against the Longueuil Collège français, Edmundston Blizzard no longer has room for mistake. The team must win Friday afternoon in regulation time against the Carleton Place Canadians if he wants to finish in 3rdplace and hope to continue in the semi-finals of the Fred Page Cup Championship held in Ottawa.
Thursday, Ryan Salvis’s squad had another bad first period after which the Collège français led 3-0. Edmundston’s head coach then wanted to shake his team by replacing his goalkeeper Francis Asselin by Myles Hektor.
The strategy paid off early in the median period as Kyle Ward scored at 8 seconds only. But the Blizzard could never get closer to one goal as Longueuil always responded.
Ward scored all Blizzard’s goals. Jason Lanoue (2), Vincent Chapleau, William St-Jacques, Samuel Sénécal and William Lemay scored for the Collège français who won their two round-robin matches so far.
Special units have been the Blizzard’s pet peeve. Collège français capitalized twice on three occasions on its powerplay compared to 1-6 for the Blizzard who scored during a two-man advantage. Moreover, the Blizzard allowed a shorthanded goal to the Collège français.
The Blizzard lost their two round robin games. Carleton Place, who felt short in its first game on Wednesday, played late Thursday night against Ottawa. Friday, Carleton Place and Edmundston will face each other at 3:30 (local time) in a deciding game. In the event of a Carleton Place victory on Thursday night, Blizzard will have to defeat them in regulation time on Friday to earn third place. In the event of a loss by Carleton Place on Thursday night, Friday’s winner between Carleton Place and Edmundston in regulation time or overtime will qualify for the semifinal on Saturday (2ndagainst 3rd). In the case of a tie between two teams in the standings, it is the result of the game between the two that determines the winner.
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone