RAPIDS ARE DEFEATED 6-5 BY CHALEUR

GRAND FALLS – The Chaleur Lightning scored three power play goals and added two shorthanded tallies, skating away on Sunday afternoon to a 6-5 victory over the Rapids at the E.&P. Sénéchal Centre.
It was the Rapids third consecutive loss on home ice after winning their first 8 from the beginning of the season.
Grand Falls’ record now stands at 10-5-2, which is the same total of points (22) as the Lightning atop the Eastlink North division standings.

It was another physical affair where special teams did indeed play a huge part in the final result of the game. The Rapids were penalized for a total of 38 minutes in the game, giving up 3 power play goals, including the game winner early in the third period. But what stands out the most are the 2 shorthanded goals scored by Chaleur in the middle frame which came on a five-minute major penalty. One of those goals came on a penalty shot at 4:45 to tie the game 3-3 at that point.

The game started very well for the Rapids as they scored with only 38 seconds played on the clock. Zackarie Michaud, with his 8th of the season, was the recipient of that first tally which came on the power play. Chaleur tied the game at 3:57 on a goal from Jack Hayne.

With only 3:32 played in the second period, the Rapids went ahead 3-2 on goals from Tristan Richard and Brayden Campbell. Ben Cross replied for the visitors.
Then came the two shorthanded goals by Chaleur (Malcolm MacDonald and Tyson Snow), which gave them the lead 4-3 before the 6-minute mark of the period. Ben Cross, with his second of the game, added a power tally as Chaleur led 5-3 through forty minutes of play.

Zachary Rushton added the Ligthning’s 6th goal in the third period before the Rapids scored twice to cut the lead to 6-5. Tristan Richard, with his second of the contest on the power play, and Mathis Cyr were the goal scorers.
The Rapids came close to tying the score with only a few seconds remaining but were unable to send the game into overtime.

The Rapids led 33 to 30 in shots on goal. Adam Lecours (Rapids) and Samuel Carreiras-Pata (Ligthning) were the netminders for their respective squads.
Ben Cross led the way offensively for Chaleur with 2g 1a. Tristan Richard scored his first two goals of the season for the Rapids. Zackarie Michaud (1g 1a) and Loic Francoeur (2a) also earned 2 points.

The Rapids will play their next three games in Nova Scotia as they play on consecutive days against Pictou County, Yarmouth and Valley starting on Thursday night.

WEEKEND ANALYSIS:

Discipline was certainly a key issue for the Rapids over the weekend as they allowed 5 power play goals in two games. Five of the 6 goals scored on Sunday by the Chaleur Lightning came on special teams: 3 pp goals and 2 scored shorthanded.
The Rapids are currently the most penalized team in the Eastlink North division standings with a total of 373 penalty minutes. Their penalty kill efficiency has fallen to third in the division at 82.3%, which means that opposing teams were able to take advantage of their PP opportunities last weekend.

Despite picking up only 1 point in two games, the Rapids are still atop their division, tied with Chaleur at 22 points.
Grand Falls will be hitting the road for three games in Nova Scotia starting in Pictou County on Thursday night. This trip might be a good opportunity to come back to where they did excel earlier this season, which keys on sustained offense and discipline.

Patrick Thibault

Scoring
1st
0:38 GFR Zackarie Michaud (8) ASST: Oliver Plante (6), Loic Gallant (4) (PP)

3:57 CHA Jack Hayne (9) ASST: None (PP)

2nd
1:57 CHA Ben Cross (16) ASST: Zachary Rushton (11)

2:30 GFR Tristan Richard (1) ASST: Luc Marnell (2), Loic Francoeur (11)

3:32 GFR Brayden Campbell (4) ASST: Reid Calder (4)

4:45 CHA Malcolm MacDonald (3) ASST: None (SH, PS)

5:47 CHA Tyson Snow (5) ASST: None (SH)

16:43 CHA Ben Cross (17) ASST: None (PP)

3rd
4:42 CHA Zachary Rushton (9) ASST: Cohen McCallum (15), Ben Cross (12) (PP)

6:54 GFR Tristan Richard (2) ASST: None (PP)

19:26 GFR Mathis Cyr (5) ASST: Loic Francoeur (12), Zackarie Michaud (14)