AMHERST – Losing a hockey game is like falling off a bike. The best advice is to get back on and keep going.
The Amherst CIBC Wood Gundy Ramblers are in Yarmouth tonight to face the Eastlink Division-leading Mariners in Maritime Junior Hockey League action – two days after giving up four power play goals and four second period goals in a 6-1 loss to the Truro Bearcats.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. at the Mariners Centre.
Amherst is home to the Bridgewater Lumberjacks on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Amherst Stadium.
Despite Wednesday’s loss, Ramblers’ captain Kody Orr says the team is ready to put the game behind it and move on.
“We didn’t have our best night, but to be honest when we talked about it as a team it wasn’t as bad as the score indicated,” Ramblers’ captain Kody Orr said Thursday. “We outshot them pretty good and other than five minutes in the second period we were pretty good. We want to put it behind us, but at the same time we’ll take some lessons and get ready for Yarmouth.”
Orr said games like Wednesday’s will keep the team honest.
“We were coming off a five-game winning streak and the guys were getting excited. Those games bring us back to earth, which is what we needed,” he said. “Still, we know we’re a good hockey team and we can bounce back. It shouldn’t be hard for anyone to get up for a game like this. We’re still battling for first place and we need a win against Yarmouth to get there.”
The Ramblers are hoping for a repeat of the last time the two teams met when Maxime Richard scored in a shootout two weeks ago in Yarmouth to give Amherst is first win over the Mariners.
Coach and general manager Jim Bottomley is confident his team will bounce back.
“We’ll take some stuff from the game, our power play and penalty kill have to be better and we have to get hungrier,” Bottomley said. “I thought we played well over all, but didn’t get the breaks. That’s over with now and we’re coming up against another good hockey team and we have to rebound right back. It’s just like a playoff game.”
The Ramblers will be without defenceman Jamie Bishop, who was assessed a gross misconduct on Wednesday. Bottomley said forward Ryan Caswell will return to the lineup and he will probably move Robert Davis back to the point.
Twitter: @ADNdarrell
