FREDERICTON, New Brunswick – After its two impressive wins in Nova Scotia, the Edmundston Blizzard came back to earth on Thursday night suffering a 4-2 loss to the Fredericton Red Wings in the New Brunswick capital.
Trailing 4-0 until the last moments in the third period, the Blizzard got things going but it was already too late. Goalkeeper Jack Grant stood in front of the Blizzard’s sharp shooters, making key saves, and someone tremendous ones to the delight of the 1,654 spectators, by far the largest crowd in the young Red Wings history at the Grant-Harvey Centre.
Shaky in the first period, the Blizzard saw the Red Wings take a 2-0 lead. Goalkeeper Antoine Lyonnais was twice beaten five-hole from shots by Liam Smith and Declan MacEachern. Nathan Kelly and Adam Zimmermann also found the back of the net to bring the score to 4-0.
Blizzard awakened with 2:12 to go in the third period. Brock McLeod scored his 9th goal of the campaign, followed by Tristan Gagnon (his 5th) with 1:22 left.
Midget rising star Josh Nadeau dressed up for his second game in the junior league. The Saint-François-de-Madawaska native was one of Blizzard’s best forward on Thursday. Nadeau is currently the leading scorer in the NPPEI Midget Hockey League. He has 28 points (14g, 14a) in 14 games.
Blizzard edged the Wings 34-32 in the shots’ column. The two teams will face each other again on Saturday (7:30 pm) at the Jean-Daigle Centre in what will be the pink in the rink game for the Blizzard. Edmundston players will don pink uniforms to show their support to people fighting cancer. On Thursday night, the Red Wings wore the camouflage jersey to celebrate the Canadian Armed Forces’ contribution with the Remembrance Day approaching.
Thursday, defenceman Tristan Mercure left the game after being struck to the face by an opponent stick in the second period. In addition, the team’s administration announced that rearguard Tommy Bertrand will be on the sideline for an extended period due to a collarbone injury suffered during the past weekend. He will not be back before the year-end holidays.
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Photo
Brock McLeod netted his 9th goal of the season on Thursday. Photo archives Digiphoto
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone