RAPIDS DEFEAT THEIR NORTHWESTERN RIVALS ON THE ROAD
EDMUNDSTON – Thanks to a full sixty minutes of intense effort and a remarkable performance from their young netminder, the Grand Falls GreenFoot Rapids surprised the Edmundston Blizzard on Friday night with a 6-3 victory.
It was a third win this season for Grand Falls and only the second defeat this for the Blizzard, leaders of the Eastlink North division standings.
Brayden Watson scored twice for Grand Falls, his 5th and 6th goals of the season. Dax Robichaud played a solid game between the pipes, stopping 41 of the 44 shots he faced.
It started on a good note for Jeff Cowan’s squad. In fact, only 14 seconds were played in the game when Watson scored his first of the night after taking control of a loose puck in the slot.
Edmundston tied the score at the 16-minute mark on Noah Larochelle’s first of the game. However, the Rapids regained the lead with only 42 seconds remaining in the opening frame when Declan Kennedy fed a perfect pass to Oliver Plante in front of the Blizzard net.
The Rapids got into penalty trouble early in the second period, which led to the Blizzard’s tying goal at 3:30 by Michael Arsenault as his team was playing with a two-man advantage.
Once again, the Rapids got back in front on a one-timer from Brayden Watson on a pass from captain Jonah Leard.
Grand Falls was ahead 3-2 after two periods of play.
Dax Robichaud kept the Rapids in front thanks to some timely saves. Edmundston did dominate the third period in shots on goal, 17 to 9. But the Rapids were the most opportunistic team, scoring three times in a span of less than 3 minutes to take control of the game.
The 4th goal was scored at 11:43 when Patrick Baxter, from his own end, fed a perfect pass to Antoine L’Italien who scored on a breakaway. Then at 13:48, Jonah Leard scored on a two-on-one break, beating Edmundston goalkeeper Olivier St-Onge on the glove side.
The visitors struck again at 14:19 on a goal from Patrick Baxter after he took control of a loose puck to the side of the Blizzard net.
Noah Larochelle (2g 1a and third star of the game) completed the scoring for Edmundston late in the period, but the Rapids held on for the road win.
Jonah Leard, who scored his 6th goal of the season, finished the game with a 1g 2a performance.
The final tally in shots on goal was 44 to 27 in favor of the Blizzard.
Edmundston scored once on the power play while the Rapids went 0 for 7.
Dax Robichaud received first star honors while Brayden Watson was named the game’s second star.
The Rapids will return to the ice on Sunday as they travel to Bouctouche to clash against the West Kent Steamers. Puck drop is at 4:00 pm.
Patrick Thibault
Scoring
| 1st | |||
| 0:14 | GFR | Brayden Watson (5) ASST: Jonah Leard (4), William Patey (4) | |
| 16:50 | EDM | Noah Larochelle (9) ASST: Justin Bouchard (4), Émile Fournier (3) | |
| 19:18 | GFR | Oliver Plante (4) ASST: Louis-Carl Tremblay (2), Declan Kennedy (2) | |
| 2nd | |||
| 3:30 | EDM | Michael Arsenault (6) ASST: William Labranche (10), Noah Larochelle (8) (PP) | |
| 12:29 | GFR | Brayden Watson (6) ASST: Loic Gallant (2), Jonah Leard (5) | |
| 3rd | |||
| 11:43 | GFR | Antoine L’Italien (3) ASST: Oliver Plante (1), Patrick Baxter (5) | |
| 13:48 | GFR | Jonah Leard (6) ASST: Zackarie Michaud (7) | |
| 14:19 | GFR | Patrick Baxter (2) ASST: Antoine L’Italien (7) | |
| 17:24 | EDM | Noah Larochelle (10) ASST: Lucas Hannay (5), Darien Thomson (5) |