YARMOUTH, N.S. – Game 3 of the MHL championship final series was a third tight battle between the Yarmouth Mariners and the Edmundston Blizzard.
Like Game 1 had, this April 19 contest had to go to double overtime to declare a winner with the 3-2 win going to the Blizzard for a 2-1 lead in the series. This has been a tight series between the two evenly-matched teams with Edmundston winning Game 1 by a score of 6-5 in double overtime and the Mariners winning game 2 by a score of 1-0.
Neither team scored in the first period of Game 3. Edmundston scored at 16:13 in the second period with a goal by Kyle Ward.
Yarmouth tied the game 1-1 four minutes and three seconds into the third period off the stick of Logan Timmons. Edmundston went ahead 2-1 at 12:04 in the third frame on a goal by Gabriel Vanier.
Yarmouth’s Luc Poirier helped send the game into overtime, scoring the tie 2-2 goal with 1:17 left in the third period.
There was no scoring in the first overtime period, but there was plenty of booing from the home-town fans with 2:09 left in the first OT frame when a high sticking call sent Mariner Duncan McKie to the penalty box. Yarmouth successfully killed off the penalty.
At 3:05 in the second overtime Yarmouth got the power play advantage when Edmundston’s Alexandre Bernier received a slashing call on a play that broke the stick of Patrick Daley.
Edmundston’s Gabriel Vanier scored the game winner in the second overtime, which was his second goal of the game. Mariners fans felt there should have been a call on the play as Mariners player Duncan McKie received a gash to his mouth from a high stick but this time there was no call.
The Mariners outshot the Blizzard 47-37 in the game, although the shots were pretty even in the two overtime frames. Both goalies played a solid game between the pipes.
First star was Edmundston's Gabriel Vanier with second star going to Blizzard Kyle Ward. The third star went to Yarmouth's Logan Timmons.
The ceremonial puck drop saw a former Mariner back at the Fish Tank as Jared Hicks dropped the puck. Hicks played with the Mariners from 2010 to 2013.
Game 4 of this final series will be played Friday at the Mariners Centre. Game time is 7:30 p.m. The series will shift back to Edmundston for Game 5 on Sunday afternoon. A Game 6 would be played in Yarmouth on Tuesday, April 24 with a Game 7, should the series go that far, played Thursday, April 26 in Edmundston.
In the lobby of the Mariners Centre the town of Yarmouth has placed a book of condolences for peope to sign to be shared with those impacted by the Humboldt Broncos tragedy. The book will be there again on Friday,
