EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – The Edmundston Blizzard find every way to win a game. Saturday night was no exception.
Will Allen scored the winning goal on a penalty shot in overtime to give the Edmundston Blizzard a 5-4 victory over the Amherst Ramblers on Saturday night at the Jean-Daigle Centre.
Allen’s goal came in the 17th second of overtime, tying Alex Arsenault for the fastest overtime goal by a Blizzard player. Arsenault had accomplished the feat against the Summerside Western Capitals on February 17, 2023. Allen earned the game’s first star on Saturday.
Trailing 4-3 after 40 minutes of play, the Blizzard tied the game at 18:11 of the third period on Émile Fournier’s 25th goal of the season, when he brilliantly deflected a pass from Philippe Collette. The Blizzard had previously withdrawn their goaltender in favor of a sixth player, and were also on the power play.
Fournier, the game’s third star, finished with two goals, his 24th and 25th of the season. This was the ninth game with more than two goals for the big guy from Sainte-Luce, Québec, a mark he is constantly improving for a Blizzard rookie. In addition, Fournier scored at least one goal in his seventh consecutive game, two games shy of Olivier Coulombe’s record.
Second star of the evening, Philippe Collette collected three assists. The Saint-Antoine captain takes sole possession of first place on the MHL scoring race with 59 points (19g, 40a).
Justin Hébert (17th goal, 1 assist) and Mathieu Pigeon (6th) also scored for the Blizzard (27-3-1-1), which thus ends its pre-holiday schedule. For Hébert, it was a 13th consecutive game with at least one point. The team record belongs to Olivier Coulombe (27).
In the loss, Mathis Perron (19th and 20th goals and an assist) and Jaden Reyers (3 assists) collected three points each. Jack O’Blenis (11th) and Mark Corbett (14th) also scored for the Ramblers (17-9-2-0), who led 4-2 with eight minutes left in the second period.
Sent into action for a second game in two nights, goalkeeper Frédéric Cousineau once again came up big. Three of the Ramblers’ four goals were scored on the power play. He faced 28 shots. At the other end, Xavier Farrah took 43 shots.
NOTES – The Blizzard finished the first portion of the schedule in first place in the overall Maritime Hockey League standings with 56 points, five more than the Summerside Western Capitals (24-5-2-1). The West Kent Steamers are third with 43 points thanks to a 20-8-2-1 record… The Blizzard are second in the country with an efficiency rate of .875 behind the Greater Sudbury Cubs (27-2-1-1 – .903)… Head coach Simon Olivier has a lucky hand. In the last three overtime wins in eight days, he had previously withdrawn his goalkeeper in favor of a sixth player. The game against Fredericton on December 14 will remain memorable, with three goals late in the third period with the goalie withdrawn… Philippe Collette (19g, 40a – 59 pts) and Dominik Godin (31g, 25a – 56 pts) are playing cat-and-mouse in the race for the season’s top scorer. Both have played the same number of games (32)… The Blizzard are unbeaten in regulation time in their last eight games (7-0-0-1)… Edmundston has a busy January schedule, with seven games on opposing rinks and three games at the Jean-Daigle Centre. The Blizzard will be in Grand-Bouctouche on January 3 to take on the West-Kent Steamers. The following day, they will face the Ramblers in Amherst. The next game at the Jean-Daigle Centre will be on Thursday, January 9, when the Blizzard host the Campbellton Tigers.
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Photo
Will Allen was the hero on Saturday, scoring the overtime winner on a penalty shot. Photo Percy Picard
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, responsable des communications – Le Blizzard d’Edmundston; 506 740-0623 – (tél. cell.)