The Edmundston Blizzard are off to the Metalfab MHL Cup Final for the second time in three seasons after a four-game sweep of the Campbellton Tigers to claim the Eastlink North Division championship.
Edmundston opened the series on home ice and held on for a 4-3 win in Game 1 over Campbellton. Rookie of the Year Émile Fournier continued to find the back of the net for the Blizzard, scoring on the powerplay at 2:00 and 14:07 of the 1st period to stake the home side to a 2-0 lead. Will Carroll scored at 3:01 of the 2nd period to put Edmundston up 3-0 before the Tigers started their comeback. Thomas Larouche got Campbellton on the board with a powerplay goal at 6:17 and Kyle MacIntyre made it a 3-2 game with a goal just 31 seconds later. William Labranche put the Blizzard up by two goals at 8:54, but former Edmundston defenseman Alexis Jacques scored a powerplay goal at 17:51 to make it a 4-3 game heading to the 3rd. Campbellton were outshot 37-14 through 40 minutes of play, but the teams tightened up in the final period where the Blizzard had the shot advantage 8-5 but neither team could score. Edmundston goaltender Austin Caley made 16 saves for the win, while Adam Rouleau made 41 saves in the loss.
Heading back to Campbellton for Game 2, Edmundston got on the board early on with a goal from Carl-Anthony Massé at 1:15 of the 1st period. Felix-Antoine Laflamme tied it up at 18:31, but Massé got his second of the game just 19 seconds later to restore the lead for the Blizzard. Owen Underhill tied things at 2 with a goal for the Tigers at 2:46 of the 2nd period. Massé wasn’t done, however, scoring shorthanded at 15:02 for the hat trick to put the Blizzard up 3-2 heading to the 3rd period. Will Allen made it a 4-2 lead to Edmundston 51 seconds into the period, which was cut to a one-goal lead by Logan Mallaley at 2:48. Fournier netted his ninth goal of the playoffs at 14:05 and a powerplay goal from Allen at 15:55 sealed a 6-3 victory for Edmundston and a 2-0 series lead. Frédéric Cousineau got the start for Edmundston and made 34 saves in the win, while Rouleau had 31 saves for Campbellton.
The Blizzard continued their trend of scoring first in the series as Fournier got the home side on the board in Game 3 with a powerplay goal at 19:53 of the 1st period. Darien Thomson and Massé put Edmundston up 3-0 early in the 2nd period, but Jean-Alexandre Tétreault made it a 3-1 game with a goal for the Tigers at 9:10. In the 3rd period, Fournier iced the game with an empty net goal at 18:56 to give the Blizzard a commanding 3-0 series lead. Caley was back in goal for Edmundson, stopping 22 of 23 shots faced for the win as Rouleau made 33 saves in the loss.
In Campbellton for Game 4, the home side jumped out early with 3-1 lead after the 1st period. Larouche opened the scoring at 2:18 for the Tigers, but Allen tied things up with a goal at 8:21. Tétreault and Larouche answered at 15:43 and 18:29, respectively to put Campbellton on top. The Blizzard rallied in the 2nd period with three goals of their own. Zachary Lessard scored at 10:09, Massé at 15:18, and then Justin Bouchard-Trottier at 16:47 to put Edmundston up 4-3 heading to the 3rd period. With their season on the line, Campbellton were unable to put another goal past Cousineau . Raphaël Denis and Jeremy D’Astous scored 46 seconds apart midway through the final period to seal a 6-3 win and a 4-0 series win for the Blizzard. Rouleau was outstanding once again with 49 saves for Campbellton in the loss, while Cousineau had 38 saves of his own in the victory.
The Blizzard now await the winner of the Eastlink South Division Final between the Pictou County Weeks Crushers and Truro Bearcats, which the Crushers lead 3-0.