EDMUNDSTON, N.B. – Curious how every Edmundston Blizzard game lately has given a player the opportunity to stand out. Tuesday night, it was Blake Richardson’s turn to shine when he guided his team to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Truro Bearcats, at the Jean-Daigle Center.
The Pincourt, Quebec native set up the first goal of the game by Austin Paul (16th at 6:35 of the first period) before scoring his seventh goal of the campaign at 15:42, still in the opening frame. It was enough, but the Blizzard (20-8-1-2) had to work hard to contain the Bearcats (15-12-2-0) until the end in this defensively focused game.
Ben Diamond (17th), of the Bearcats, found the back of the net behind Raphaël Audet in the second period, but Blizzard’s goalie gave nothing more. Another great outing for Audet. He sees his goals against average continue to drop. It now stands at 3.37.
The Blizzard fired 38 pucks against Mavrick Goyer of the Bearcats. Audet faced 24 shots. Richardson (1st) and Jérémy Duguay (2nd) earned the first two stars of the game on the Blizzard side. Former Blizzard Brant King was picked the the third star of the encounter.
The four teams that will take part in the playoffs in the Eastlink North section are now known: Summerside (56pts), Edmundston (43pts), Fredericton (40pts) and Campbellton (39pts). While Summerside is guaranteed first place, the other three teams are locked in a fight until the end for ranks 2-4. Grand Falls (26pts) and Miramichi (15pts) are excluded from the playoffs.
The Blizzard, which will play five of their last six games on opposing rinks, will visit the Red Wings in Fredericton on Wednesday, March 9 (7 p.m.).
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Photo
Blake Richardson had a point on the two Blizzard games on Tuesday night. Photo Eric Thibodeau
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone