The Rapids came close to gaining their 4th victory of the season on Friday night, dropping a shootout decision against the Yarmouth Mariners.
Of course, a .500 record was probably the best scenario that the coaching staff was hoping for, but despite picking up only 1 point in the standings over the weekend, Grand Falls is still only 4pts back of third place in the EastLinkNorth division standings and 1pt ahead of the Fredericton Red Wings for fifth spot. With the level of parity there is this season in the division, a playoff spot is still attainable.
“With 40 games still remaining, we remain confident that we will finish in the top four”, mentions Rapids’ head coach Greg Leland.
“Outside of Edmundston, who has proven to be a top team, the rest of the division has plenty of parity”.
Coach Leland is also optimistic that his team will eventually turn things around.
“We feel we have played better than our record indicates and are making improvements slowly.”
The Rapids were most certainly not outclassed during last weekend’s games, even though they were down by two goals after twenty minutes of play against the Mariners on Friday night. Matthew Ferdinand, with his first tally of the season, scored the tying goal to send the game into overtime late in the third period. Patrick Baxter also scored his first goal as a Rapid in Friday night’s contest.
On Sunday afternoon against the West Kent Steamers, the Rapids held a 2-1 lead in the opening frame, but their opponents scored three unanswered goals, including two in the second period, as they defeated Grand Falls by a score of 5-3.
Jacob Pelletier, Patrick Baxter and Jeremy D’Astous scored for the Rapids who now have a record on the season of 3 wins, 8 losses and 1 shootout loss for a total of 7 points.
The Rapids were without defenseman Raphael Denis and forward Ty Hunter (both injured), but team effort was there, as well as the intensity level. They did have some moments where getting shots on goal was difficult, notably in the first 10 minutes of Sunday’s game against the Steamers where the team only registered its first shot at the 9-minute mark of the frame. Grand Falls sent 27 shots on goal in that game and 31 against Yarmouth on Friday night.
The lack of opportunism was also a key factor in those two losses as the Rapids went 1 for 9 on the power play in two games.
A couple of key turnovers by the Rapids in their own zone resulted in key goals for the opposing team. However, netminders Loic Nadeau and Adam Lecours did their best to keep the games close.
There were some positive notes however, notably on the defensive front. Blocking shots remains a strength among d-men; Ethan Kane was outstanding on Sunday afternoon as he blocked three consecutive shots on the same sequence of play during a West Kent power play.
The fact also that other players registered their first goals of the season is encouraging for an offense that currently ranks 11th in the league with 35 goals scored in 12 games.
The Rapids are in action twice on home ice this upcoming weekend against squads from their own division. Friday night they host the Miramichi Timberwolves while on Sunday afternoon, the Edmundston Blizzard come to town with an impressive 13-1 record.
Patrick Thibault
TEAM NEWS AND STATS
*The Rapids’ home record this season is 2 wins, 4 regulation time losses and 1 shootout defeat for a total of 5 points.
Their record on the road stands at 1 win and 4 losses in 5 games.
*The Rapids have dropped to third in penalty minutes with a total of 304 min. Summerside (344 min.) and Miramichi (314 min.) occupy the first two positions in that statistical department.
*Grand Falls’ penalty kill is ranked 5th in the league at 80.9%. The Truro Bearcats lead the league with a PP efficiency of 91.7%.
*Jeremy D’Astous leads the team in scoring with 3 goals and 12 assists for 15 points. Jonah Leard is second with a record of 8 goals and 5 assists for 13 points. Caleb MacDonald (5g 3a) is third with 8 points.
Leard has 5 power play goals on the season, which ranks him second in the MHL behind Dominik Godin of Summerside who has 6 PP goals.
*Goaltender Adam Lecours is currently 9th in the league in saves percentage with 0.898. Lecours has also been between the pipes for all 3 Rapids’ victories thus far this season.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE:
*The Edmundston Blizzard still lead the pact in the EastLink North division standings with 26 points, which is 11 points better than West Kent who sits in second spot with 15 points. Miramichi and Campbellton both follow with 11 points while Grand Falls (7pts) and Fredericton (6pts) are the two teams battling for fourth spot in the division.
The Summerside Western Capitals have a 6-point lead over the Amherst Ramblers in the EastLink South division. Following in order are Pictou County, Valley, Yarmouth and Truro.
*Two players are tied for top spot in the MHL scoring race with 23 points. They are Brett Arsenault of Summerside with a record of 12g 11a and Philippe Collette of Edmundston with8g 15a.
Two players follow at 20 points: Mathis Perron of Amherst (9g 11a) and Damon Englehutt of West Kent (8g 12a).
*Simon Boucher of the Blizzard leads the league for the best goals-against average with 2.00. Despite being sidelined due to an injury, Jack Howatt of Edmundston is second with an average of 2.20.
Rhyah Stewart of West Kent is third in GAA with 2.50.
THE RAPIDS UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
*Friday October 25: Miramichi at Rapids (7:00 pm)
*Sunday October 27: Edmundston at Rapids(3:00 pm)