Amherst -
AMHERST - You could cut the tension with a knife as the Amherst Ramblers fought back the Woodstock Slammers from gaining any ground on the hometown favourites here at the Amherst Stadium Saturday night.
Amherst Rambler Andrew Oakley opened things up three minutes into the first unassisted as fans got a flavour of things to come. Without the first second even melted off the clock Woodstock's Kyle Soder was sent to the penalty box for a minor cross check. Both teams took swipes at each other back and forth with a total of eight penalties in the first before tempers really began to flare in the second.
Again Oakley moved the Ramblers up another goal with an assist from Matthew Squires. Woodstock's Mark MacEachern moved the Slammers onto the board halfway into the second but Ramblers Brent Lynch, moving off of Oakley and Squires, gave the Ramblers their edge back over the New Brunswick team, ending the period 3-1. Shots on goal by periods end were 23 Ramblers, 20 Slammers.
It was a scoreless third period so high strung that even Woodstock Assistant Coach B. Vail couldn`t keep it together, receiving a game misconduct half-way through the final period. With minutes left on the board Ramblers Lee Denny and Slammers Mitch Price were both tossed out of the game for misconduct and when all hope was lost Woodstock turned to dirty pool, with Jarret Paul firing an elbow that sent him packing off ice followed by an explosive outburst from Kyle Soder who was nailed with 10 minutes for misconduct with virtually no time left on clock.
As the dust settled on what was one of the most memorable nights of the season for Amherst fans the score was 3-1 for the Ramblers. Shots on goal: 33 Ramblers, 36 Slammers.
The Ramblers next game is Sunday, Feb. 3, in Truro where they will take to the ice at 2:00 p.m. against the Bearcats.
