EDMUNDSTON, N.B. – A one-goal lead going into the third period didn’t offer as much insurance as perhaps the Mariners would have wanted, but in the end that one goal was all it took for Yarmouth to even the MHL championship final series with the Edmundston Blizzard.
Coming off the heels of a back-and-forth scoring affair in Game 1 where the Blizzard won 6-5 in double overtime, Yarmouth had a 1-0 win in Game 2 to tie the series 1-1.
Following a scoreless first period – in which the Mariners displayed some strong penalty killing on the Blizzard’s two power plays – Campbell Balk, assisted by Aaron Maillet, buried the puck behind Edmundston goalie Francis Asselin, for what would turn out to be the only goal of the game.
The Mariners outshot the Blizzard 12-10 in the first period and 8-4 in second. Both teams had eight shots on net in the third period.
Edmundston pulled their goalie for the extra attacker at the end of the game. Following a time-out the Mariners were able to stave off the Blizzard from scoring in the final 1:17 of the game.
There weren’t a lot of penalties handed out. The Mariners were given 10 minutes in minor penalties over the three periods with Edmundston receiving eight minutes. Edmundston’s Patrick Pellerin and Yarmouth’s Lauchie MacDonald were each given a five-minute fighting major and a 10-minute misconduct in the third.
Leif Hertz had the shutout for the Mariners, stopping all 22 Edmundston shots. He was named first star of the game. Edmundston goalie Francis Asselin stopped 27 of 28 shots and was named second star. Third star went to Campbell Balk who had the only goal of the game.
With the series tied 1-1, the next two games now shift to Yarmouth.
Remaining schedule:
• Game 3: Thursday, April 19, 7 p.m. in Yarmouth
• Game 4: Friday April 20th 7:30 PM Yarmouth
• Game 5: Sunday, April 22 3 p.m. in Edmundston
• Game 6 (if needed): Tuesday, April 24, 7 p.m. in Yarmouth
• Game 7 (if needed): Thursday, April 26, 7:30 p.m. in Edmundston
