EDMUNDSTON, N.B. – In a third game in as many days, one would have thought to see a hockey team coming to Saint-Jacques breathless…
Well, it was the exact opposite this afternoon (Sunday) at the Palladium of Saint-Jacques when the South Shore Lumberjacks defeated the Edmundston Blizzard, 5-2, in front of 918 hockey fans.
The fans were expecting a good and tight duel and that’s what they got. The visitors still had a lot of energy to spare and maybe the Blizzard were a bit overconfident entering the contest.
For a third consecutive game at home, it was the visitors who struck first. Logan O’Neil capitalized on a gift in front of goaltender Francis Asselin who was beaten by a quick-released wrist shot at 1:11 of the first period. But two minutes later, at 3:30, Logan Johnston tied the score on a power play goal. Twenty-three seconds before the period ended, Cody Grant put the Lumberjacks ahead, and for good.
In the second period, the Lumberjacks continued their domination by scoring three more goals, while the Blizzard got one. Nicholas Tardif, Chrisian Tsukamoto and Mateo Short got the markers for the visitors. Kyle Ward added his league-leading 12th goal of the season for the Blizzard.
No goals were scored in the third period. The Lumberjacks (10 wins, 3 losses) left New Brunswick with three wins in their back pocket over the weekend. They are now tied with the Yarmouth Mariners (10 wins, 2 losses) at the top of the EastLink South Division of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. The two Nova Scotian teams have 20 points, but the Mariners have a game in hand. Blizzard now shows a record of 9 wins and 3 losses.
Christian Tsukamoto (1st) and Ian Smallwood (3rd) earned stars on Sunday for the visitors. The second star went to Alexandre Jacob, of the Blizzard, who again displayed dazzling speed.
Asselin faced 31 shots in front of the Blizzard net. Lumberjacks goaltender MacKenzie Janes blocked 18 of the Blizzard’s 20 shots.
The Blizzard will now play in a new amphitheater in Edmundston, the Jean-Daigle Centre. The first game there will be played next Saturday at 7:30 pm at the Blizzard hosts the Summerside Western Capitals. The same two teams will compete again the next day at 3 pm.
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, vice-president communications – The Edmundston Blizzard; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone