The Edmundston Blizzard picked up a much-needed win at the Centennial Cup in Calgary, Alberta on Monday. They defeated the LHJQ-champion Valleyfield Braves 7-2. With the win, the Blizzard move temporarily into the third and final playoff spot in Group B and eliminated Valleyfield from the tournament.
Edmundston got off to a quick start as Carl-Anthony Massé and Jérémy Fortin scored 64 seconds apart early in the 1st period. Will Allen added a powerplay goal at 18:39 to extend the lead to 3-0 after the 1st period. Valleyfield’s James Swan got his side on the board at 8:38 of the 2nd period, but Allen scored his second of the game at 10:13 to make it 4-1 Edmundston. Jérémy D’Astous added a breakaway goal at 15:46 to give the Blizzard a 5-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Charlie Hawthornthwaite scored for the Braves at 5:37 of the 3rd period to cut the lead to 5-2. Mathieu Pigeon got that goal back for Edmundston with a goal at 14:21, and William Labranche added a powerplay goal with three seconds left in regulation to finish off a 7-2 win. Austin Caley was back in goal for Edmundston and made 24 saves for the victory.
The Blizzard will wrap up their preliminary round schedule against the host Calgary Canucks at 10:30 p.m. Atlantic on Tuesday.