2007 National U18 Club Championship

POWERPLAY LEADS BLIZZARD TO BIG WIN OVER NORTH STARS

The Séminaire Saint-François Blizzard proved to be too much for the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars on Wednesday night as the Quebec champions cruised to a 7-0 win in Olds, AB at the 2007 TELUS Cup.

The Blizzard used a lethal powerplay – three of their seven goals came with the man advantage – to move to 2-1 at the National Midget Championship, while the Central Region champions dropped to 0-3.

Sebastien Trudeau led the way offensively for the Blizzard, scoring twice and adding three assists, while David Savard added two goals and an assist, and Alexandre Chiasson pitched in with a goal and a helper.

“Our team has good speed, and we drive to the net hard” said Blizzard coach Serge Beausoleil following the game. “For us the best defensive strategy is offensive pressure.”??Tommy Dery and Guillaume Goulet also scored for Saint-François, who momentarily chased North Stars goaltender Thomas Gravelines after scoring three times in the first period, and two more in the second.

Justin Hogsden replaced Gravelines and allowed two goals on four shots before Gravelines returned for the final 20 minutes.

On the other end of the ice, Blizzard goaltender Sebastien Jupin-Langlois made 20 saves for the shutout.

Michael Trudel was named Player of the Game for the Blizzard, while Kevin Smith took home the hardware for Sault Ste. Marie.

The North Stars are quickly seeing a semi-final berth slipping away, and look to break into the win column for the first time on Thursday night when they take on the St. John’s Maple Leafs – the only other winless team remaining – in Olds.

The Blizzard, meanwhile, return to Red Deer Arena for the first time since Monday when they take on the Vancouver North West Giants on Thursday afternoon.

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PREVIEW: BLIZZARD, NORTH STARS BOTH LOOK TO REBOUND FROM TOUGH LOSSES

The 2007 TELUS Cup visits Olds, AB on Wednesday night as the Séminaire Saint-François Blizzard battle the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars on Wednesday night in a battle of two teams coming off tough losses.

The Blizzard controlled the first 40 minutes against the defending national champion Prince Albert Mintos on Tuesday night in Carstairs, AB, outshooting the West region champions 31-9 before falling apart in the third period of a 3-1 loss.

The Quebec champions had to deal with the loss of sniper Dave Labrecque, who was ejected early in the third period of a then-tie game after picking up his third stick-related penalty of the game. He’ll need to return and be a force for the Blizzard to pick up the win.

Sault Ste. Marie allowed the Vancouver North West Giants to score twice in the opening eight minutes of their game on Tuesday afternoon, and couldn’t comeback in what ended up as a 2-1 loss.

The North Stars need to get their offense on track if they hope to find the win column – they have scored just one goal in two games so far, out of character for a team which scored a Great North Midget League-high 217 goals in the regular season.

The game is the first for the North Stars away from Red Deer Arena, and they hope the change of venue will bring them a change of luck. The Blizzard meanwhile, dropped their first game away from Red Deer and hope Olds will bring them a better result than Carstairs did.