EDMUNDSTON, N.S. – Although it ended on a heartbreaking note for the Yarmouth Mariners, Game 1 of the MHL final turned out to be a great battle between two great teams to start off this best-of-seven-game championship series.
The Edmundston Blizzard won the game 6-5, scoring 51 seconds into the second overtime.
The Yarmouth Mariners outshot the Blizzards 43-30 with shots on net during the game.
And throughout the game the score went back and forth with neither team ever holding more than a one-goal lead over the other, and much of the time saw the score tied. It was a tie game at the end of the first, second, third and first overtime periods.
And the goals all came in quick succession whenever a team pulled ahead of the other, with the longest gap in scoring being the first 10-minute overtime.
Yarmouth was first to score at 7:14 in the first period with a power play goal by Noah McMullin (Matt Barron). Edmundston answered back with a power play goal one minute and 32 seconds later off the stick of Keenan Gillis (22 Alexandre Jacob, 17 Kyle Ward).
It was a 1-1 game going into the second period. Shots on goal were 18-8 for the Mariners.
At 13:29 McMullin scored again, assisted by Adam Pilotte and Connor Peveral), to put the Mariners up 2-1. Again, the Blizzard answered quickly, scoring one minute and 27 seconds later. Scoring was Alexandre Jacob (Alexandre Bernier, Maxime Grandmaison).
But McMullin wasn’t finished scoring for the Mariners, scoring his third for the hat-trick at 17:05. His power play goal, assisted by Andrew Martell, put the Mariners up 3-2.
It was a short-held lead as the Blizzard tied the game 52 seconds later with Danny Coulombe (Tristan Mercure, Liam Leonard) scoring on the power play.
The score was tied 3-3 after two periods. The second period’s shots on goal were 9-8 for the Blizzard.
In the third period the Blizzard took the lead for the first time at 7:52 with a repeat power play goal by Keenan Gillis (Ward, Jacob) at 7:52 in the frame. The Mariners tied the game 4-4 one minute and 8 seconds later with Andrew Martell scoring (Logan Timmons, Pilotte.)
The Mariners regained the lead at 13:12 with a goal by Brent Broaders (Barron) putting the Mariners up 5-4. Blizzard player Kyle Ward (Jacob, Bernier) tied the game 5-5 two minutes and 33 seconds later at 15:45.
SOG in the third period were 14-8 for the Mariners.
The game went into a scoreless 10-minute overtime period but it came to a quick conclusion in the second overtime period with Kyle Ward (Jacob) scoring 51 seconds into the second OT frame.
In net for the Blizzard, Francis Asselin stopped 38 of 43 shots.
In net for the Mariners, Leif Hertz stopped 24 of 30 shots.
Game 2 goes Sunday night, April 15, at 7:30 in Edmundston.
The remainder of the schedule is:
• 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*: Tuesday, April 24, 7 p.m. in Yarmouth
• Game 7*: Thursday, April 26, 7:30 p.m. in Edmundston
* If needed
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