AMHERST – It has been 16 years since Cumberland County has won a Nova Scotia peewee AA championship.
Teams have come close, such as 2010 and 2016 when the Ramblers lost in the Nova Scotia final, but this year the team is back hoping the third time is the charm as the Cumberland County Amherst Toyota Ramblers will face the Halifax Hawks in a one-game, winner-take-all provincial championship game.
Part of the Day of Champions, that includes provincial championships at various levels from atom to midget between Friday and Sunday, the Ramblers will play Halifax at the Rath-Eastlink Community Centre in Truro on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
“The boys are ready to go,” head coach Jeff Walsh said. “They’ve been working toward this goal all season and they seem to be peaking at the right time. They are really committed to winning and have worked hard both on the ice and off the ice to get to where they are today.”
The Ramblers won the right to vie for a provincial championship in thrilling style two weeks ago, when on home ice they picked up a last-second 5-4 win over the West Hants Warriors to capture the conference championship.
One of the biggest reasons behind the team’s success, Walsh said, is every player has bought into what the coaching staff has been teaching all season, simple things like strong defensive zone play, keeping pucks out of the middle and using a strong work ethic.
“We’ve been very fortunate all season in that we had a group of boys that really bought into what we have been telling them as a coaching staff,” Walsh said. “They have really put team first and it has resulted in success. Now we’re just one game away from accomplishing our season-long goal.”
Walsh was also quick to credit the other members of his coaching staff for working together to build toward this weekend. Joining Walsh on the bench are assistant coaches Mike Stack and Corey Crocker and trainer Dr. Kim Maddison.
The Ramblers are going into the game on a bit of a roll, having won the championship game at the SEDMHA tournament in Halifax last weekend. The club has played Halifax three times this season, earning a convincing win on home ice during the Bluenose tournament back in the fall while dropping the championship game to the Hawks at the Jordan Boyd tournament in Bedford in October and losing an exhibition game later in the season.
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