The Edmundston Blizzard are back in the Eastlink North Final for the third year in a row following a 3-2 win over Miramichi on Monday night to eliminate the Timberwolves in five games. The Blizzard will face the winner of the West Kent/Campbellton series in the next round.
After capturing the overall regular season title and entering as the top-ranked team in the nation, according to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) rankings, Edmundston blanked Miramichi 5-0 in Game 1 at Centre Jean-Daigle. Carl-Anthony Massé, Émile Fournier, Jérémy Fortin, Zachary Lessard (powerplay goal), and Will Carroll (empty net) scored for the Blizzard, while goaltender Austin Caley made 21 saves for the victory. Jack Flanagan made 45 saves for the Timberwolves in the loss.
Back on home ice, Miramichi evened the series at a game apiece with a wild 7-6 double overtime win. The Timberwolves struck first just 2:19 into the game with a goal from Drew MacIntyre, but Zachary Lessard answered 35 seconds later. Miramichi regained the lead at 12:34 on a goal from Cael MacDonald. The Timberwolves added three more goals in the 2nd period to take a 5-1 lead as Ryan Hackett, Justin David, and Easton Schlender each found the back of the net. Caley was pulled after the fifth goal, replaced with Frédéric Cousineau, having faced seventeen shots. The Blizzard weren’t giving up, however, and scored five straight goals in the third period to take a 6-5 lead. Fournier and Raphaël Denis each had two goals, while Darien Thomson also scored. At 17:11, MacIntyre potted his second goal of the night to send us to overtime and David scored his second goal of the night just 34 seconds into the second extra period for a 7-6 victory. Flanagan made 35 saves for the win, while Cousineau finished with eighteen saves on 20 shots for Edmundston.
The Blizzard took control of the series back in Game 3 with a 7-3 win on home ice. Massé opened the scoring at 6:53, but MacDonald scored for Miramichi on the powerplay to tie things up at 8:53. Edmundston would retake the lead at 17:25 of the 1st period with a goal from Philippe Collette. The Blizzard added three more goals in the 2nd period from Will Carroll, Fournier, and Will Allen. Jack Flanagan was pulled after the 2nd period, allowing five goals on 28 shots. Miramichi cut the lead to 5-3 with goals at 3:06 of the 3rd period from MacIntyre and 14:24 from David on the powerplay, but the Blizzard would close the win with goals from Marco Martin at 14:45 and a powerplay goal from Mathieu Pigeon at 19:58. Cousineau got the start in goal for Edmundston and made 29 saves for the win. Mathis Lafontaine had 10 saves in the 3rd period for Miramichi.
Things tightened up for the remaining two games of the series. In Miramichi for Game 4, the Timberwolves took a 2-0 lead after the 1st period with a powerplay goal from Schlender and an even strength goal from Kaden McNeil. Jérémy Fortin scored shorthanded at 17:30 of the 2nd period and Fournier scored on the powerplay at 19:39 to tie things up heading to the 3rd. Justin Bouchard-Trottier scored the game-winner at 17:59 for a 3-2 Edmundston victory and a 3-1 series lead. Caley had 21 saves for the win, while Flanagan had 36 saves in the loss.
The series shifted back to Centre Jean-Daigle in Game 5. The home side jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 8:21 of the 1st period on a goal from Massé and doubled their lead to 2-0 just 41 seconds into the 2nd period as Fournier scored his sixth goal of the series. The Timberwolves’ Nolan Ryan cut the lead in half at 17:02, setting up a tense 3rd period. In the final frame, Martin scored 25 seconds in to give the Blizzard a 3-1 lead. MacDonald scored his third goal of the series at 15:05, but that’s as close as Miramichi would get as the Blizzard closed out another 3-2 win and a 4-1 series victory. Cousineau made 26 saves for the win, while Flanagan had a 33-save performance for the Timberwolves.