Local crowd had to wait until the 47th minute to see the Blizzard on the scoresheet. Rookie Maxime Grandmaison did not hide his joy after tying the score 1-1. Photo archives Digiphoto
The Blizzard recorded its 14th win in 18 games (14-2-1-0) beating the St. Stephen Aces 2-1.
Trailing 1-0 after two periods, the Blizzard managed to solve the Jack Grant mystery with a first goal at 7:12 in the third. Maxime Grandmaison completed a superb play prepared by Nolan Alward and Liam Leonard. This tying goal brought joy among fans.
With just 2:40 remaining in the third, Alex Lavoie’s slap shot found the bottom of the net for the winning goal. Lavoie has a sense of drama. He scored the first goal in Blizzard history on September 15 in Woodstock. He also scored the overtime winner against Amherst in the opening game at the Palladium de Saint-Jacques on September 29.
After a scoreless first period, the Blizzard saw the Aces take the lead thanks to Adam Crowe.
The spectators saw for the first time two newcomers, goalie Myles Hektor and forward Gabriel Vanier. If Grant was rock-solid allowing two goals on 41 shots, Hektor made many key saves. He stopped 19 of 20 shots against him.
As for Vanier, we thought he had scored his first goal as a Blizzard when, during a breakaway, he went around the goalkeeper but Grant extended his left pad in extremis to keep him from scoring.
The Blizzard will face the Yarmouth Mariners on Sunday, November 19, at 3 pm at the Jean-Daigle Centre. Yarmouth will complete a tough weekend of three games away. The Mariners lost 2-1 in Campbellton on Friday and fell 5-3 in Miramichi on Saturday.
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone