EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – Another emotional evening at the Jean-Daigle Centre on Saturday. The Edmundston Blizzard needed all its spare change to defeat the Amherst Ramblers 4-3 in a shootout. The home team’s precious win was largely due to forward Félix Bédard and goaltender Nicholas Sheehan.
Bédard (1st star) scored the first goal early in the game, at 1:17 of the opening frame. And he nailed the Ramblers’ coffin as the last man standing in the shootout. He beat the goalie with a shot between the pads to raise the roof of the Jean-Daigle Centre, which was shaking under the weight of 2,138 delirious spectators.
As for Sheehan (2nd star), he put on quite a show with his multiple glove saves in the third period and on two occasions in the shootout. The crowd and the Ramblers simply couldn’t believe it.
It didn’t take long for both teams to blacken the score sheet. After Bédard’s initial goal (19th), Peter Amanatidis (8th) made it 2-0 at 5:36. The Ramblers, however, reduced the gap to one goal 19 seconds later from the stick of Christian Reardon (7th).
The Blizzard saw their lead reversed in the second period. Cooper Cormier (7th) made it 2-2 at 0:54 and Jonah Jelley (10th) gave the Ramblers (11-9-0-2) the lead at 10:50. On a breakaway, Noah Matulu (3rd) brought the teams deadlock at 3-3, at 11:43.
Then, no goals until the shootout. Overall, the Blizzard dominated in shots (39-24). Ramblers goalie Jack Howatt earned third star honors.
The Blizzard (16-8-0-0) won a sixth straight game, the longest active winning streak in the MHL. With 32 points, Edmundston is now just two points behind the top spot occupied by the West Kent Steamers (16-7-2-0).
Edmundston plays its next home game the upcoming Thursday (7:30 p.m.) when it hosts the Grand Falls Rapids (7-13-0-3).
– 30 –
Photos
Félix Bédard and Nicholas Sheehan put in another solid performance on Saturday evening. Photos Percy Picard
– 30 –
Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone