Fredericton Express lose to Miramichi in sold out game

Express player David Brewer and Northmen Denver Dunfield battle along the boards near the end of the third. (Credit: Tyler Farrer/Tyler Farrer Photography)

The Fredericton Express were defeated by the Miramichi Northmen 4-3 in a tight game on Oct. 25 at the Grant-Harvey Centre.

The sold-out crowd was passionate throughout the game, cheering on the new Fredericton franchise.

The first period began with a fight eight seconds in. Express player Travis Fullerton took on Northmen Cory Smearer in a quick exchange ending with Fullerton falling.

The aggressive tone remained for the rest of the game. Miramichi was handed a boarding penalty a few minutes later, which they were able to kill. 

Express player Brady Patterson had a good chance with a slapshot from the point halfway through the period, followed by teammate Peter Trainor’s breakaway. Despite these chances, Miramichi got on the board first with a goal a few minutes later.

Fredericton would respond with a goal towards the end of the first. Ryan Tesink got a quick shot into the net off a pass from Trainor to tie the game 1-1. 

The second period began with a goal within the first minute by Northman Joel Blanchard, giving Miramichi the edge by one. 

Express player Declan Graham was then penalized for hooking, along with Northman Brendan Milson, after the two went at each other behind the net. The four-on-four play was interrupted with another Express penalty from Cole Young for roughing.

The Express penalty kill of Connor McClusky, John Harty and Brett MacLean strongly defended their zone against Northmen attackers. 

A few moments later, MacLean snapped a nice pass to Gavin Hart, who deked the Northmen goalie out of position to score and tie the game again at 2-2.

The hostile play continued with another fight. Express Captain Benji Curtis and Northmen Josh Russell pummelled each other with quick fists until Russell fell.

Kevin Russell, Russell’s father, found the game very entertaining despite the fight.

“The aggressive play, that's part of senior hockey. You know what I mean … I don't like it, but that's part of the game,” he said.

The Northmen quickly took back the lead after the fight 2-3.

The final period began with the play mostly from Fredericton’s end. Tesink made a strong defensive play, blocking a shot by getting down on his side.

Play immediately flew to the other zone. Trainor was able to find the net on a wrist shot from the side, tying the game at 3-3. A scrum after the goal led to two Fredericton penalties for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct. 

The combative play continued for the rest of the period. Eight more penalties would be handed out to both teams for interference, roughing and cross checking.

Despite the loss, Express fan James Dorcas was happy with the full arena.

“I thought it was really entertaining. The crowd was good and everybody seemed to be into it, [it was] really exciting,” he said.

Fredericton had multiple chances to take the lead. Trainor had a nice wrist shot that just missed the open net halfway through the period during a power play, while Harty had a nice play in front.

With four minutes left, the Northmen were able to find the net after a pass in front got through, winning the game 3-4.

Curtis wasn’t affected by the loss. He was happy with the crowd and believed their support was a great motivation.

“The town showed up and rallied behind us and it was a really close game. I think we just fought hard. We were down a few times, but we battled through and evened it up,” he said.

MacLean agreed that despite the score, it was still a great game overall.

“We played hard for 60 minutes. A couple of good scoring chances, some just didn't go our way. But all around it was a well-played game by our team.”