GRAND FALLS, N.B. – Bailey Shortall ended a hotly contested game Friday night at the E. & P. Sénéchal Center by scoring the decisive goal on a breakaway in overtime at 1:47, giving the Grand Falls Rapids a 6-5 victory over the Edmundston Blizzard.
The goal came at just the right time for the Rapids, who had squandered two two-goal leads in the game.
The Rapids took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Loïc Francoeur (18th at 4:11) and Dereck Asselin (5th at 8:32). However, the Blizzard came back later in the period with goals 18 seconds apart from François-Xavier Mercier (5th at 15:36) and Darien Thomson (38th at 15:54).
Elliott Guenette broke the 2-2 tie at 4:46 in the second period following a superb shorthanded play. Guenette’s 12th goal of the season gave the Blizzard their only lead of the game.
At 13:49, Coen Miller (26th) tied the game once again. Then, the Rapids struck with lightning speed, scoring two goals in 18 seconds, courtesy of Tristan Richard (5th at 16:12) and Loïc Francoeur (19th at 16:30). The Rapids led 5-3 after 40 minutes of play.
The Blizzard bounced back in the third with goals from William Labranche (31st at 5:24) and Émile Fournier (20th at 7:09).
Adam Lecours (Rapids) and Cédric Massé (Blizzard) were the goalies in a game dominated 35-32 by Grand Falls in terms of shots.
Francoeur (1st), Labranche (2nd), and Richard (3rd) were named the stars of the game played in front of 1,057 spectators.
The battle for first place in the Eastlink North division of the MHL is heating up with this game ending in overtime.
The West Kent Steamers (27-12-4-3) still lead with 61 points, two more than the Blizzard (27-15-3-2) and three more than the Rapids (26-15-5-1). The Chaleur Lightning (26-17-2-1) round out the four teams qualified for the playoffs with a total of 55 points.
The Northwest battle continues to be one of the most exciting, and representatives from both cities could well face off in the postseason for the very first time. Edmundston has won four of the seven games so far. The last Blizzard-Rapids matchup before the playoffs will take place at the Jean-Daigle Centre next Thursday.
But first, the Blizzard will face the Miramichi Timberwolves (15-28-3-1) on Saturday, February 21 (7 p.m.).
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Photo
Eliott Guenette scored his 12th goal of the season during a penalty kill. Photo archives Percy Picard.
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, communications – Edmundston Blizzard (506) 253-7741