RAPIDS DROP A 5-0 DECISION TO THE RED WINGS
GRAND FALLS – Visibly shaken by their heart-breaking loss on Saturday night in Edmundston, the Grand Falls Rapids were held scoreless Sunday afternoon on home ice. The visiting Fredericton Red Wings scored three times in the opening frame and added two goals in the third period for a 5-0 victory.
Mathias Savoie earned the shutout for Fredericton, stopping 22 shots. His counterpart Gio DiMattia was brilliant between the pipes, facing a total of 55 shots in the contest.
Fredericton applied pressure all game long, leaving few opportunities for the Rapids’ offense to gain any momentum. The Red Wings took control of the game from the opening faceoff until the very end and never gave the Rapids much hope to climb back into the game.
Fredericton thus avenges its loss suffered during the Rapids home opener, a 5-4 decision back on October 3rd.
The Red Wings were the better team in the opening period in all aspects of the game. They controlled play in the opposing end and made their presence felt in front of the net. As a result, they dominated 21 to 7 in shots on goal while scoring on three occasions.
Coming in on a breakaway, Cole Fraser got the visitors on the board early, sending a backhand shot past netminder Gio DiMattia at 1:04.
Nathan Kelly doubled the Fredericton lead at the 6-minute mark after finding a loose puck in the crease at 7:32. Then Cole Young added a third goal for Fredericton at 7:32 after taking control of a rebound in front of the net.
No goals were scored in the second period as the Red Wings’ forechecking game kept the Rapids offense without any chance to transition quickly from one end to the other.
The Rapids lost defenseman Zac Arsneault early in the frame after he went hard into the boards. Arsenault did however return to action in the third period.
Once again, the Red Wings dominated in shots on net, 18 to 8.
Fredericton added two more goals in the final period on Gabriel Bernier’s deflection in the top corner and Nathan Kelly’s second of the game following a faceoff win in Rapids’ territory.
DiMattia made some spectacular saves, earning the game’s third star.
The Red Wings shot 16 times on net in the third period against 7 for Grand Falls.
The Rapids will go on the road for a couple of games in Nova Scotia this week. They will play the South Shore Lumberjacks Thursday night at the Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre (7 pm) while on Friday night, they will be in Yarmouth against the Mariners for a 7:30 pm matchup.
Patrick Thibault
GAME NOTES:
*Nathan Kelly (2 goals) et Xzander Pierce (2 assists) were the most productive players offensively for the Red Wings.
*The Rapids had many players missing from their lineup on Sunday, mostly due to injuries. Not in the lineup were forwards Tommy Bouchard, Max Chisholm and Evan Jackson.
For the occasion, two affiliated payers were in the lineup. Cody Rossignol played his second consecutive game with the offensive unit while Jean-Remy Leblanc was added to the defensive corps for Sunday’s contest.
*Three stars of the game: 1- Nathan Kelly (FRW); 2- Xzander Pierce (FRW); 3- Gio DiMattia (GFR)
*Game attendance : 516 spectators
Scoring
| 1st | |||
| 1:04 | FRW | Cole Fraser (4) ASST: None | |
| 6:30 | FRW | Nathan Kelly (2) ASST: Gabriel Bernier (3) | |
| 7:32 | FRW | Cole Young (1) ASST: Sam Campbell (3), Xzander Pierce (1) | |
| 2nd | |||
| No Scoring | |||
| 3rd | |||
| 8:24 | FRW | Gabriel Bernier (1) ASST: Logan Carruthers (2), Xzander Pierce (2) | |
| 14:18 | FRW | Nathan Kelly (3) ASST: None | |