YARMOUTH, Nova Scotia – Even by multiplying pressure in the offensive zone, the high-scoring Edmundston Blizzard could not put the puck behind Joey Lovullo who gave the Yarmouth Mariners a 1-0 victory in the opening game of the final series of the Metalfab MHL Cup on Sunday night in front of 1,448 fans gathered at the Mariners Centre.
The Blizzard completely bottled up the Nova Scotia team in the last two periods, but each time Lovullo stood up like a wall. In the second period, he denied Philippe Collette a sure goal when he dove t grab the puck.
The Blizzard dominated once again in the shots column in a playoff game (37-24).
The Mariners came out strong early and got on the board just 1:10 into the game when Reid Vos grabbed a rebound off the board to beat Thomas Boucher who also had another strong game.
It was the first time in 2022-2023 that the Blizzard were blanked from the score sheet, regular season and playoffs combined. The game marked the return of Olivier Coulombe who was well watched throughout the night.
Lovullo (1st), Vos (2nd) and Boucher (3rd) earned the game stars.
The two teams will meet again on Monday, April 17 at the Mariners Centre (7 pm).
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Photo
After a seven-game absence due to injury, Olivier Coulombe was back in the Blizzard lineup Sunday night. Photo Percy Picard in Yarmouth
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone