The Edmundston Blizzard struck first in the Metalfab MHL Cup Final with a 7-3 win over the Pictou County Weeks Crushers on Friday night at Centre Jean-Daigle in Edmundston.
Émile Fournier picked up his league-leading 12th goal of the playoffs at 10:09 of the 1st period to give the Blizzard the lead. Owen Arnold tied things up at 18:28, but the Blizzard retook the lead at 19:41 with a goal from Jérémy D’Astous.
The Blizzard struck quickly out of the gate in the 2nd period as Marco Martin put the home side up 3-1 just 42 seconds into the period. Goals from D’Astous, Darien Thomson, and Carl-Anthony Massé (powerplay) gave Edmundston a 6-1 lead. Carter Murchison scored on the powerplay for the Crushers at 18:48 to make it a 6-2 lead.
The teams traded goals in the 3rd period en route to a 7-3 victory for the Blizzard. Philippe Collette scored at 9:12 for Edmundston and Kiefer Avery had a powerplay goal at 14:08. Austin Caley made 19 saves for the win, while Thomas Fontaine had 30 saves in the loss.
Game 2 will be played Saturday night in Edmundston. The Crushers will try to split the first two games before the series shifts back to New Glasgow for Games 3 and 4 next week.