GRAND FALLS, N.B. – The Grand Falls Rapids had visibly fresh in their minds their 8-5 loss to the Edmundston Blizzard on October 16 after leading 5-1 in the game.
Trailing 3-1 after 40 minutes of play in Grand Falls, the Rapids spared no effort in the last twenty minutes to tie the game towards the end of the period and ultimately win in extra time, 4 to 3.
On a 3-on-3, Dominic LeBlanc (1st star) skated into Blizzard territory and fired an accurate shot from the faceoff circle beating goaltender Raphaël Audet on the stick side.
Yannic Bastarache, at 7:57, and Jérémie Gagnon (3rd star), at 17:12 shook the ropes in the third period for the Rapids who bombarded Audet with 20 shots, most of them threatening. If it hadn’t been for Audet’s extraordinary performance, the result might well have been different in regulation time. He faced 35 shots.
Alex Savoie, with his first career goal in the MHL, Mitchell McLeod (4th; 2nd star) and Peter Amanatidis (2nd), the last two on breakaways, beat goaltender Gia DiMatia who made 24 saves.
Keegan Hunt (1st) opened the scoring in the game at 16:54 of the first period.
This victory comes at the right time for the Rapids (3-6-0-0) who put an end to a five-loss streak. The Blizzard (5-2-1-0) are now two points back behind the third-place Fredericton Red Wings (6-3-1-0) in the Eastlink North Division.
After three consecutive games on the road, the Blizzard will see their fans at the Jean-Daigle Centre on Sunday, October 31st, at 3 p.m., when they host the Red Wings.
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Photo
Raphaël Audet had a very busy game, especially in the 3rd period where he received 20 shots. Photo archives Percy Picard
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone