EDMUNDSTON, N.B. – Defenseman Brock Bartholomew scored the winning goal in shootout, giving the Amherst Ramblers a 4-3 victory over the Edmundston Blizzard on Saturday night at the Jean-Daigle Centre.
It took 6 rounds to decide a winner. Shootout has never been beneficial to the Blizzard. In 5 seasons in the MHL, the Blizzard has 4 wins and 14 losses in such situation. This season, Edmundston is 0-3.
Gavin Watt (6th), Cole Julian (9th) and Owen Cole (4th) scored all of Amherst’s goals in the second period. In the Blizzard camp, Blake Richardson (9th) opened the scoring in the first period. Alex Savoie (7th) and Tristan Therrien (15th) found the back of the net in the second frame. Both teams were unable to score in the third period and in overtime.
The Ramblers fired 33 shots in the direction of Raphaël Audet. The Blizzard shot 29 times against the net defended by Mitchell Dudar.
Owen Cole (1st, Ramblers), Zach Welsh (2nd, Blizzard), and Gavin Watt (3rd, Ramblers) were selected the stars in the hard-fought game.
After Saturday’s games in the MHL, the race is still tight for second place in the Eastlink North division. Fredericton (21-9-2-0 = 44pts) and Edmundston (20-9-1-3 = 44pts) are tied for 2nd place but the Red Wings lead them with a .688 winning percentage against .667 for the Blizzard. Campbellton (18-8-4-1 = 41pts) follows with .661. Due to the uneven games played by the teams, it is the winning percentage that will be used to determine the rankings and not the number of points.
The Blizzard and the Campbellton Tigers will face off Sunday (3 p.m.) in the city of Restigouche. This match-up will be a game changer in the standings.
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Defenseman Zach Welsh was excellent on Saturday, earning him the second star of the game. Photos Percy Picard
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone