EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – The veteran players of the new-look Edmundston Blizzard rose to the occasion Wednesday night at the Jean-Daigle Centre, handing the Grand Falls Rapids a 3-0 defeat in the final preseason game of the MHL, whose season gets underway tomorrow.
Last season’s Blizzard top scorer, Émile Fournier, scored twice, and his linemate, William Labranche, added the third goal to seal an unequivocal triumph in a game where the home team dominated 41-18 in shots on goal.
The two teams showed off their new look before the start of their campaigns this weekend. The Rapids will kick off their season on Friday by hosting the Amherst Ramblers. The next day (7:30 p.m.), the Nova Scotia team will visit the Blizzard for the opening game of the defending MHL playoff champions.
Goaltenders Cédric Massé and Rilan Benner shared the workload equally to earn the shutout in front of the Blizzard net. Their counterparts Adam Lecours and Jérémy Thibodeau-Soucy defended the Rapids’ net.
The Blizzard won their three-game exhibition series (2-1) against the Rapids.
Fournier (1st), Labranche (2nd) and Éliott Guénette (3rd), all of the Blizzard, earned stars in the game played in front of a crowd of 1,873 spectators.
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Photo
Émile Fournier (81) scored the Blizzard’s first two goals in the second period. Photo Nui Lapyingyong.
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, communications – Edmundston Blizzard (506) 253-7741