Ramblers Drop 5–4 Decision to Mariners After Late Yarmouth Rally

Yarmouth, NS — The Amherst Ramblers came up just short on Sunday night, falling 5–4 to the Yarmouth Mariners at the Mariners Centre in a tightly contested matchup that saw multiple lead changes and a late surge from the home side.

The first period was a back-and-forth battle, with Yarmouth opening the scoring just 1:08 in, courtesy of Grayson Pardy, assisted by Justin Garneau. Amherst answered midway through the frame on the power play, as Darien Reynolds finished off a play from Owen Aura and Mark Corbett at 7:23. Yarmouth briefly regained the lead through Will Shearer at 9:30, but Amherst struck back with a last-second goal by Cooper Cormier at 19:59 to send the teams into the intermission tied 2–2.

The Ramblers grabbed some momentum in the second period despite an early tally by Yarmouth’s Garneau at 6:55. Amherst responded with two unanswered goals — Mark Corbett scoring at 12:48 and Owen Aura adding another power-play marker at 15:04. Both goals were assisted by Cooper Cormier and Anthony Gaudet, the latter registering three assists on the night. Amherst took a 4–3 lead into the final frame.

Though Amherst outshot Yarmouth 40–38 over the game, including a dominant 17–9 edge in the first period, the third belonged to the Mariners. With time winding down, Pardy notched his second of the night at 16:47 to tie the game, and just 17 seconds later, Ryder MacQueen found the net to put Yarmouth ahead for good at 17:04. The quick turnaround proved to be the difference, as Amherst couldn’t recover in the closing minutes.

Despite a strong effort, especially on special teams where they went 2-for-3 on the power play (compared to Yarmouth’s 0-for-3), the Ramblers were unable to hold off the Mariners’ late push. Goaltender Hudson Bradley made 33 saves in the loss, while Keegan Warren stopped 36 for Yarmouth.

The game showcased Amherst’s offensive depth and special teams efficiency, but it also underlined the importance of late-game execution — something the Mariners capitalized on with two goals in under 20 seconds to seal the win.