It was a .500 weekend for the Rapids who have now only two games remaining on their 2023-2024 schedule.
Friday night on home ice against the Yarmouth Mariners, the Rapids were within one goal early in the third period before their opponents added to their lead with a couple of tallies to secure a 4-1 victory.
Then On Sunday afternoon, once again at the E.&P. Sénéchal Centre, Greg Leland’s squad put an end to a four-game losing skid by defeating the Valley Wildcats 6-2. Colin Parker led the way offensively with a hat trick, his 6th, 7th and 8th goals of the season.
Adam Lecours, who made both starts between the pipes, registered his 13th victory of the season on Sunday.
The Rapids will conclude their season with two more games: Friday night on home ice against the Miramichi Timberwolves and Sunday afternoon in Fredericton for a matchup against the Red Wings.
Grand Falls trails the Campbellton Tigers by 3 points for 5th spot in the Eastlink North division standings. The Tigers also have two games remaining to their schedule: Friday night against West Kent and Sunday in Miramichi.
The last home game for Grand Falls will also be an opportunity for the fans to say goodbye to three veterans who will be playing their last home game at the junior A level.
Jérémy Boulanger, who has been an important part of the offense all season long, is the Rapids’ leading scorer this season with 14 goals and 34 assists for 48 points. Colin Parker, fresh out of a three-goal performance in Sunday’s contest, will also be playing his last games with the team this upcoming weekend. Same for Tristan Sanchez who played in all 50 games thus far this season, compiling a record of 8g 6a for 14pts.
The good news for the Rapids is that there will be a whole bunch of players still eligible for a return to the lineup next season, including the entire defensive corps. Goaltenders Adam Lecours and Will Hodgson, both 2005-born players, are also eligible for next season.
In fact, among all six teams in the Eastlink North division, the Rapids are the only squad that has less than 5 players not eligible to return next season. Only the Valley Wildcats have the fewest players in the MHL leaving this season with only 1 2003-born player on their current roster.
This a positive way for the Rapids’ organization to look at next season’s outcome.
Patrick Thibault
TEAM NEWS AND STATS
*As mentioned, the Rapids have only 3 players not eligible to return to the lineup for next season. Following is a complete list, team-by-team, of the number of players (2003-born) that are leaving after this season:
Eastlink North:
Fredericton (9); Miramichi (8); Edmundston (7); West Kent (7); Campbellton (5); Rapids (3)
Eastlink South:
Yarmouth (11); Summerside (8); Truro (8); Pictou County (7); Amherst (4); Valley (1)
*The Rapids’ record now stands at 15 wins, 32 losses and 3 shootout defeats for a total of 33 points.
Their home record is 8-15-2 for 18 points while on the road, the team has a 7-17-1 record for 15 points.
*The Rapids remain the third-least penalized team this season in the league with a total of 734 minutes in 50 games. Only Fredericton and Campbellton have fewer penalty minutes thus far this season.
The Summerside Western Capitals lead the league in that statistical department with 1270 penalty min., followed by Valley with 1203 min.
*Grand Falls’ power play efficiency has gone up this week to 19,0% while their penalty kill has slightly dropped to 74.9%.
*Following are the team leaders among different statistical departments:
-points: Jérémy Boulanger (48)
-goals: Ethan Johnson (15)
-assists: Jérémy Boulanger (34)
-power play goals: Jonah Leard (5)
-power play points: Ethan Johnson (21)
-shorthanded goals: Zacharie Charest, Tristan Sanchez and Colin Parker (1)
-winning goals: Zacharie Charest (3)
-goals against average: Adam Lecours (3.39)
NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE:
*The Edmundston Blizzard have wrapped up first place in the Eastlink North division. They currently have a total of 73 points. Following in order are: West Kent (66pts), Miramichi (65pts), Fredericton (47pts), Campbellton (36pts) and the Rapids (33pts).
In the Eastlink South division, the Summerside Western Capitals have also clinched first place in the division. They total thus far 81pts. Following in order: Yarmouth (58pts), Amherst (57pts), Pictou County (54pts), Truro (53pts) and Valley (20pts).
*Carter McCluskey of the Fredericton Red Wings is getting closer to a scoring championship. He has a record of 45 goals and 57 assists for 102 points, which is 14 points better than Félix Bédard of Edmundston (36g 52a 88pts).
Nicholas Dufort of the Miramichi Timberwolves is the leading goal scorer with 46g.
*Nicholas Sheehan of the Edmundston Blizzard remains the leader among goaltenders with the best goals-against average with 2.39.
THE RAPIDS UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
*Friday March 8: Miramichi vs Rapids (7:00 pm)
*Sunday March 10: Rapids vs Fredericton (2:00 pm)