YARMOUTH, N. S. – Goaltender Cédric Massé stood tall as he led the Edmundston Blizzard to a 3-0 victory over the Yarmouth Mariners in a Maritime Junior A Hockey League game played Saturday night in southwestern Nova Scotia.
The Blizzard thus completed their three-game road trip in as many days with four points out of a possible six.
The Rimouski native stopped all 23 shots he faced. Several saves were made at key moments. Massé has the best goals-against average in the MHL (1.80) and the best save percentage (.938).
Once again, Darien Thomson led the Blizzard’s offense with a goal (his sixth) and an assist.
Noah Breau (first) scored the game’s first goal with seven seconds left in the second period on a shorthanded effort.
After two periods, the Blizzard led 1-0. Darien Thomson delivered the knockout blow at 13:23 on a power play in the third after receiving a clever pass from William Labranche. With a 2-0 lead, the Mariners pulled their goalie, but Justin Trottier (1st) scored his first of the season into an empty net.
Defenseman Lucas Fortin was his usual self, racking up two assists in the win over the Mariners (2-3-0-0), who were well rested coming into their first game of the weekend.
Head coach Michael Ward can tip his hat to his players’ collective effort in both games in Nova Scotia (a 5-2 win over Valley on Friday). On Saturday in Yarmouth, forward Justin Trottier delivered an outstanding performance that too often goes unnoticed. Six minutes into the second period, with the defensemen out of position, he came back on defense to brilliantly thwart a two-on-one. It was certainly a key defensive play that kept the score tied at 0-0 at that point.
The Blizzard dominated 39-23 in shots on goal. Thomson (1st), Breau (2nd), and Massé (3rd) were named the stars of the game, which was played in front of 1,160 fans.
The Blizzard has been successful when playing at the Mariners Centre. They have a record of seven wins and two losses in this very hospitable region, which is home to a large Acadian population near Baie Sainte-Marie and Argyle County, the true cradle of Acadia.
The Blizzard (3-3-0-1) is now playing .500. They return home for a series of three games. Saturday, October 4, will be an important test as the Blizzard hosts the top-ranked team in the MHL, the Summerside Western Capitals, who are undefeated in regulation time in six games (5-0-0-1).
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Photo
Cédric Massé earned Blizzard’s first shutout of the season on Saturday in Yarmouth. Photo Percy Picard
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, communications – Edmundston Blizzard (506) 253-7741