METALFAB MHL CUP PLAYOFF CAPSULE: AMHERST VS PICTOU COUNTY
(Photo: Paul Morrison Photography)
From the MHL:
2024 Eastlink South Division Semi-Finals Schedule
(2) Amherst Ramblers vs (3) Pictou County Weeks Crushers
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- Game 1 – Saturday, March 16th, 7 p.m. – Amherst Stadium
- Game 2 – Monday, March 18th, 7 p.m. – Pictou County Wellness Centre
- Game 3 – Wednesday, March 20th, 7:30 p.m. – Amherst Stadium
- Game 4 – Friday, March 22nd, 7 p.m. – Pictou County Wellness Centre
- Game 5 – Sunday, March 24th, 6 p.m. – Amherst Stadium*
- Game 6 – Tuesday, March 26th, 7 p.m. – Pictou County Wellness Centre*
- Game 7 – Thursday, March 28th, 7 p.m. – Amherst Stadium*
*if necessary
| Amherst | Pictou County | |
| 27-20-3-2 (5th) | Record (MHL Rank) | 27-21-4-0 (6th) |
| 5-5-0-0 (1-0-0-0) | Last 10 Games (current streak) | 4-4-2-0 (2-0-0-0) |
| 204 (7th) | Goals For (MHL Rank) | 223 (3rd) |
| 216 (8th) | Goals Against (MHL Rank) | 217 (9th) |
| 23.2% (6th) | Powerplay % (MHL Rank) | 24.5% (4th) |
| 78.0% (6th) | Penalty Kill % (MHL Rank) | 73.8% (10th) |
| Jonah Jelley – 26 G, 44 A (10th) | Top Scorer (MHL Rank) | Nick Mahar – 24 G, 45 A (12th) |
| Coen Strang – 10 G, 35 A | Top Scoring Defenseman | Preston Pattengale – 8 G, 25 A |
| Lyam Leblanc – 14-6-1-0, 3.68 GAA, .908 SV%, 1 SO Jack Howatt – 13-13-2-2, 4.15 GAA, .891 SV% |
Goaltenders | Phil-Antoine Trepanier – 20-11-1-0, 3.74 GAA, .894 SV% Gio DiMattia – 7-9-2-1, 3.94 GAA, .882 SV%, 1 SO |
| 2-5-0-1 (5 points) | Head-to-Head Record | 6-2-0-0 (12 points) |
| Jonah Jelley – 4 G, 5 A Coen Strang – 1 G, 8 A |
Leading Scorer in Season Series | Carter Murchison – 5 G, 12 A |
Previous Meetings
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- September 20th – Pictou County 6 Amherst 5 (SO)
- October 5th – Amherst 3 Pictou County 7
- October 7th – Pictou County 3 Amherst 4
- November 16th – Amherst 3 Pictou County 5
- November 19th – Pictou County 5 Amherst 4
- November 30th – Amherst 3 Pictou County 6
- February 24th – Pictou County 6 Amherst 3
- February 29th – Amherst 2 Pictou County 1
Notes
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- These division rivals haven’t faced each other since the 2016-17 season when Amherst won a hard-fought seven-game series that featured three overtime games and only one game that was decided by more than two goals. Amherst last made the playoffs in 2021-22, losing in five games to Truro in the first round. Pictou County was swept in the Eastlink South Division Semi-Final last season by Yarmouth.
- The Ramblers had 21 more points this season, which was the second-best improvement in the MHL.
- The Crushers are tied with Summerside for a league-best twelve shorthanded goals, nine of which came on the road. Despite the third-worst penalty-killing percentage in the MHL, the Crushers held Amherst to just 6 for 36 on the powerplay (16.7%). Pictou County was 11 for 31 (35.5%) on the powerplay against the Ramblers.
- Jonah Jelley led the Ramblers with 70 points and finished the season strong. Since the trade deadline, he’s collected thirteen goals and nineteen assists in nineteen games. That’s the third-most points in the league over that span, trailing only Fredericton’s Carter McCluskey (45 points) and Miramichi’s Ludovic Dufort (37).
- Amherst had a strong crop of rookies in 2023-24 as seven reached double-digits in points. Liam Dutcher led the way with fifteen goals and eighteen assists to finish tenth in league scoring. Pictou County had three rookies top 30 points this season, including Lane Lochead who finished fourth in rookie scoring with 43 points, Logan Roop with 34 points. The Crushers’ Kingsley Austin had three goals and 27 assists to finish second in rookie defensemen scoring behind West Kent’s Aiden Diamond.
- Amherst held the Crushers to under five goals just twice this season; the two games where they defeated Pictou County.