Crushers heading to Amherst with early series lead
Two days after the Pictou County Crushers and Amherst Ramblers went into double overtime, the teams will get after it again in Cumberland County.
“I liked our resolve,” Crushers coach Doug Doull said of his team’s 5-4 win, a topsy-turvy game of momentum swings and a jolting start to the Maritime Junior Hockey League playoff series.
“Lots of guys in our lineup have never experienced MHL playoff hockey and that was likely the best first playoff game they could have been a part of, with respect to what it takes to win.”
Rookie Dylan Riley won Thursday’s game on a Michael Dill setup, getting a shot through Ramblers’ goaltender Daryl MacCallum after 26 minutes of extra time, as the two sides jacked up the intensity and physical play, which of course was entirely expected.
Evan MacLennan is one of those Crushers who had their first taste of junior playoff hockey and “up here, it’s at another level,” said the winger.
Doull singled out defenceman Mark Kennedy as an example of a player who responded when asked to do some heavy lifting.
“I thought Mark was a difference-maker out there when they pushed. Amherst is heavy and laden with talent – we are being tested.”
Ethan Marsh had two goals for Pictou County, Dill potted an early one and Brad Kennedy was clutch late in the game; the Crushers trailed 4-3 with less than 30 seconds to go, before the winger got hold of the puck in the slot with plenty of time to find a target, ripping a shot past MacCallum on the short-side, forcing OT.
Matt Cusson, Grant Janes, Julian Makary and Pictou County native Matt Sartori scored for the Ramblers, who will be intent on tying up the series on Saturday at Amherst Stadium.
“It’s a seven-game series. I think we’re fine here,” Amherst forward Matt Lapointe said Thursday. “I think we proved to ourselves that with a couple bounces our way, it could have been our game.”
Alexis Roy, who had two assists in the game, wasn’t surprised by the pace.
“It was a big game for us, a big win. I knew it was going to be (intense) and everybody in the room was expecting a game like that. It would have been harder for us to go into their barn if we had lost game one.”