Ramblers Fall 7-5 to Crushers in High-Scoring Battle

WESTVILLE, N.S. — The Amherst Ramblers mounted a third-period comeback to take the lead, but the Pictou County Weeks Crushers responded with three unanswered goals to hand Amherst a 7-5 loss Thursday night at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.

Pictou County opened the scoring at 9:19 of the first period, converting on the power play to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Crushers extended their advantage early in the second period with another power-play goal at 1:07. Amherst answered shortly after, as Elliot Wright scored a shorthanded goal at 2:14, with Zach Wheeler picking up the assist.

Pictou County restored its two-goal lead at 3:44 before adding another at 8:18 to move ahead 4-1. The Ramblers refused to back down, however, as Owen Dyke scored at 14:31, assisted by Nathan Weber and Wheeler. Dyke struck again late in the period at 19:29, with Coen Miller and Brock Lyons recording the assists to pull Amherst within one heading into the third.

The Ramblers carried that momentum into the final frame. Lyons tied the game at 3:45, with Ben Manos and Wright picking up the assists. Wright then scored his second of the night at 9:42, assisted by Wheeler, giving Amherst a 5-4 lead.

Pictou County responded just 24 seconds later, tying the game at 10:06 on the power play. The Crushers regained the lead at 13:44 before adding an empty-net goal with 17 seconds remaining to secure the 7-5 victory.

Wright and Dyke each scored twice for Amherst, while Lyons added a goal and an assist. Wheeler contributed three points with three assists, and Miller, Weber and Manos each recorded an assist.

Brandon Lavoie made 23 saves on 29 shots for the Ramblers, while Pictou County goaltender George Gallant turned aside 27 of 32 shots.

The Ramblers finished 0-for-4 on the power play, while the Crushers capitalized on four of their five opportunities with the man advantage.

Despite a five-goal effort and a third-period lead, Amherst was unable to close out the contest as Pictou County rallied for the win in front of 987 fans.