EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – Philippe Collette had a blast on his arrival with the Edmundston Blizzard, scoring two goals and three assists, guiding his new teammates to a 9-4 win over the Grand Falls Rapids on Thursday night. at the Jean-Daigle Centre.
Freshly arrived in the Northwest after starting the season with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the QMJHL, Collette, from Saint-Antoine, had a dream night with a line completed by Mitchell McLeod and Patrick LeBlanc. Between them, they totaled 12 points. McLeod (1g, 4a) also had a 5-point game, also a career MHL single-game high for the Hubley, NS captain. As for LeBlanc, from Dieppe, he scored twice.
Brandon Casey (1g, 1a), Jérémy Duguay (1g, 1a), Alex Arsenault (1g, 1a), Tristan Fortin (1g) were the other scorers for the Blizzard, which became the second team to reach the 20 wins plateau this season in the MHL. The Blizzard (20-11-0-1) are tied for first in the Eastlink North Division with the Campbellton Tigers (18-8-4-1). With 41 points, the two northern teams are two points ahead of the Summerside Western Capitals (19-9-1-0).
With two assists, Olivier Coulombe increased his streak of games with at least one point to 17. In fact, since his very first game with the Blizzard.
Ben Diamond (1g, 1a), Mathis Huot (1g, 1a), Marc-Antoine Belzile and Yannic Bastarache shook the ropes behind Thomas Boucher who faced 39 shots from the Rapids (14-15-0-0). His counterpart, Charles-Antoine Julien, who made his MHL debut, faced 42 shots.
After a first period of two goals, Grand-Sault and Edmundston opened the machine in the second by scoring no less than eight goals, which tied a record in a single period at the Jean-Daigle Centre. For the fourth time in their history, the Blizzard managed to score nine times during the same meeting at home.
The Blizzard’s next game is scheduled for Saturday, January 14 (7:30 p.m.) against the Valley Wildcats. Mother nature could, however, force the postponement of this game because the Nova Scotian team must come to Grand Falls on Friday, as a winter storm is coming in.
– 30 –
Photo
Philippe Collette was brilliant in his first game this season with the Blizzard. On this sequence, he unleashes a powerful wrist throw for his first goal of the evening. (Photo Percy Picard)
– 30 –
Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone