MIRAMICHI – Kobe Burt will long remember his first game in a Rapids’ uniform as he scored the winning goal on Wednesday night in a 3-2 win for Grand Falls over the Miramichi Timberwolves.
It was also Burt’s first tally of the season after coming over in a trade last week from South Shore.
It was an 11th win in 13 games for the Rapids who have now tied the Summerside Western Capitals for 3rd spot in the Eastlink North division standings. Both teams have 26 points in total, but Grand Falls has played two more games on the schedule thus far.
The Rapids never trailed in this contest. They took a 1-0 lead early in the opening period on Cole MacWilliam’s 3rd goal of the season. Coming on a two-on-one break, Yannic Bastarache sent a pass in front of the net to MacWilliam who redirected the puck past netminder Ryan Knight at 5:51. Bryce Thomson also picked up an assist on the goal.
Miramichi led in shots on goal through twenty minutes of play, 9-6.
It didn’t take long for the Rapids to double their lead in the middle frame. With only 46 seconds played in the period, they came in on a 4-man rush into Miramichi territory. Defenseman Jonathan Cormier was the one carrying the puck and sent a wrist shot that found its way into the back of the net, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead. It was Cormier’s first goal of the season.
The Timberwolvs got on the board with less than 3 minutes remaining in the second period. While playing with the man advantage, Travis Badcock scored on a one-timer at 17:47, cutting the lead to 2-1 for the Rapids.
Grand Falls outshot Miramichi in the second period, 11 to 5.
Kobe Burt’s winning tally came at 3:34 of the third period. He came in on a breakaway and was denied on his first shot; he then took his own rebound, giving the Rapids a mich needed two-goal advantage early in the frame. Dominic Deschênes was the one who fed the pass that sent Burt speeding alone in Timberwolves’s territory.
Both teams had some good scoring chances in the third as the pace picked up quite a bit. The Timberwolves got within one goal once again at the 15-minute mark on Travis Badcock’s second of the game following a great individual effort in the Rapids’ zone.
The Rapids held on for the win as goaltender Frédéric Plourde blocked 21 shots, earning win number 7 on the season.
The Rapids will return home for two games on the weekend. They host the Fredericton Red Wings on Friday night (7:30pm) before clashing with the Edmundston Blizzard on Suunday afternoon (3pm).
Patrick Thibault
GAME NOTES:
*Kobe Burt came close to adding a second goal in his first game with Grand Falls; he came in on another breakaway with only 3 minutes remaining in the third period.
*Bryce Thomson finished the game with 2 assists for the Rapids while Cole MacWilliam also picked up 2 points on Wednesday night (1g 1a).
Travis Badcock (2g) and Felix Landry (2a) led the way offensively for Miramichi.
*The Rapids were 0 for 3 on the power play while the Timberwolves scored once on three PP opportunities.
*Game attendance: 482 spectators
*Three stars of the game: 1- Cole MacWilliam (GFR); 2- Travis Badcock (MIR); 3- Bryce Thomson (GFR)
Scoring
| 1st | |||
| 5:51 | GFR | Cole MacWilliam (3) ASST: Yannic Bastarache (20), Bryce Thomson (4) | |
| 2nd | |||
| 0:46 | GFR | Jonathan Cormier (1) ASST: Cole MacWilliam (2), Bryce Thomson (5) | |
| 17:47 | MIR | Travis Badcock (2) ASST: Felix Landry (14), Ludovic Dufort (9) (PP) | |
| 3rd | |||
| 3:34 | GFR | Kobe Burt (1) ASST: Dominic Deschenes (5) | |
| 15:10 | MIR | Travis Badcock (3) ASST: Felix Landry (15) |
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