AMHERST – The Amherst CIBC Wood Gundy Ramblers will be missing several regulars tonight when they conclude their regular season on the road against the Pictou Weeks Crushers.
Game time is 7 p.m. and the game is being broadcast live on CKDH 101.7 FM with the pre-game show at 6:50 p.m.
“We’ll be sitting a few guys out that still have injuries. We don’t want to rush anyone back before the playoffs,” coach Jim Bottomley said last night. “We’re going down there to get the two points and go into the playoffs on a high, but we don’t want to take any chances with a couple of guys.”
Bottomley said forwards Josh Pugsley and Danny Harquail and defencemen Jamie Bishop and Ben MacDonald won’t dress, while both Robert Davis and Cam McDonald are out with suspension.
The Ramblers are appealing the four-game suspension handed Davis for a major penalty received against Summerside on Saturday night. Bottomley said the team is sending a video into the league for review.
The Ramblers will be using a couple of affiliate players tonight including Zack Anderson, who played with the Cumberland County Blues, and both David Hayes and Kyle Kavanagh from the Valley Maple Leafs.
The Ramblers still don’t know who their first round opponent will be. The Truro Bearcats have a two-point lead on the Yarmouth Mariners for the Eastlink Division lead. Truro plays Woodstock and Yarmouth faces the Crushers on Friday.
A Truro win clinches the division title for the Bearcats, setting up a divisional semifinal series between Amherst and Yarmouth.
A Truro loss and a Yarmouth win gives the Mariners the divisional crown based on the tiebreaker of wins, not including shootout wins.
The divisional semifinal will begin next weekend.
Twitter: @ADNdarrell
