AMHERST, N.S. — AMHERST, N.S. – If there’s something Doug Doull is looking for in his hockey team it’s grit mixed in with consistency.
As the Amherst CIBC Wood Gundy Ramblers return home Wednesday to face the archrival Truro Bearcats, Doull is looking for a 60-minute effort against a team that’s off to a slow start but still expected to figure in race to the top of the Eastlink South Division standings.
“They’re a very good hockey team there and can’t be taken lightly,” Doull said. “They have a lot of veterans on that team and a lot of leaders and no game against Truro is ever easy.”
Game time Wednesday is 7 p.m. at the Amherst Stadium.
Truro is winless in two starts, dropping a pair of games to the Yarmouth Mariners.
The Ramblers come into the game after picking up their first win of the season, a last-minute 4-3 win over the Valley Wildcats in Berwick on Friday.
In that game, the Ramblers fired 56 shots at Wildcats’ goalie Aaron Brunn but it took a shorthanded goal with 1:02 to go to eke out the win as Max Boudreau stole a puck inside his own blueline, carried the puck down the ice and set up Cole Darrach with the game-winner.
Alex Lafreniere, Dylan MacDonald and Boudreau also scored for the Ramblers, who for the second game in a row jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead before giving up three goals.
Zach Falck, Darren Waterman and Ethan Kearney scored for the Wildcats.
Tyler Caseley picked up his first win in his first start between the pipes for the Ramblers, facing 28 shots.
“It’s good to get the win. It was a game we had in full control, but we fell asleep for four minutes,” Doull said. “It’s something we can’t do. We were back on our heels for a bit, but once we got the boys settled down and back on track we were OK.”
Doull credited Wildcats’ goalie Brunn for playing “lights out” against his club.
“It’s a credit to them to play as hard as they did against us and it’s something we’ll learn from. We’re not the type of team we were last year, we can’t roll through this league. The veterans coming back this year have to realize they can’t afford to take any shifts off,” Doull added. “We have lots of grit, but we need to buckle down.”
On Thursday, the Ramblers had difficulty staying out of the penalty box in a 3-2 loss at the Pictou County Wellness Centre against the Weeks Crushers.
Robbie Burt and Boudreau scored in the first before Jaden Mason and Jake Martin scored two minutes apart late in the period to tie the game 2-2 after 20 minutes.
Kevin Mason scored with just over three minutes to go in the second to give the Crushers a one-goal lead they’d hold throughout.
“It’s tough to win in this league when you take 12 minor penalties,” Doull said. “I get it that the refs in this league are really trying to put their stamp on things. We have to aware of that and adjust.”
Doull thought his club started well but got knocked off its momentum by some penalties and struggled to get things going against a team in its home opener.
Besides Wednesday’s game, the Ramblers are home to the Edmundston Blizzard on Saturday night.
