EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – Just because a team is already out of the playoffs doesn’t mean it will be easy to beat them.
Although 57 points separated the Edmundston Blizzard from the Fredericton Red Wings before the initial puck drop, the Northwestern team had to work hard to add two more points to their record.
By taking a 4-1 lead early in the second period, the Blizzard appeared to be cruising to an easy win. But the Wings scored three goals to level the score at 4-4 after 40 minutes. However, the Blizzard broke the deadlock in the third period to finally triumph 7-4.
The game’s first star, Marco Martin, had the best game of his MHL career with 2 goals and 1 assist in the opening period alone. The 21-year-old scored his 4th and 5th goals of the season. Will Allen (2nd star, 19th, 1a), William Labranche (11th, 1a), Justin Trottier (11th), Philippe Collette (26th – game-winner) and Darien Thomson (10th, in an empty net) scored for the Blizzard, who notched their 42nd win in their 50th game of the season. Jérémy D’Astous had two assists in the win.
For the Red Wings (12-32-1-2), goals came from Isaiah Rogerson (1st), Jackson Sheddick (15th), Ryan Hopkins (16th) and Sam MacFarlane (3rd star, 18th).
The Blizzard dominated 30-20 in the shots column. Mathieu Mongrain was the Wings’ goalkeeper, while Austin Caley was his rival in front of the Blizzard cage. For Caley, it was a 9th consecutive start with a victory, two wins away from Thomas Boucher’s mark (11) set during the 2022-2023 season.
The Blizzard (42-6-1-1) have just two more games to play until the end of the season. They host the Miramichi Timberwolves (24-22-0-2) on Friday, March 7 (7:30 p.m.) and the Campbellton Tigers (25-18-4-2) on Sunday, March 9 (3 p.m.).
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Photo
Marco Martin had the best game of his MHL career on Thursday with three points. Photo Percy Picard
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, communications co-ordinator – Edmundston Blizzard – 506 740-0623 – (cell.)