ST. STEPHEN, N.B. – Cole Waugh’s goal from the top of the crease with just over three minutes to play proved to be the winner as the Amherst CIBC Wood Gundy Ramblers picked up a 5-3 win over the St. Stephen Aces in MHL action on Friday.
It’s the first of a three-game road trip that continues with games in Edmundston on Saturday and Grand Falls on Sunday.
Caleb Rich picked up the puck in the neutral zone, carried it into Aces’ territory and behind the net before throwing it out front where Waugh had snuck into the edge of the crease.
“I thought tonight we came out a little slow. In saying that it usually happens after a four-hour bus trip. We played better in the second and third,” Ramblers coach and GM Jeff LeBlanc said. “I call these greasy road wins, we'll have to be better tomorrow in a tough building to come up with the two points.”
Brandon Costa deflected a shot from the point with 2:23 to go to make things interesting, but Casey Fox scored into an empty net with 29 seconds left to add insurance.
St. Stephen grabbed the lead just 48 seconds into the first as the Ramblers showed their bus legs. Michael Waugh’s shot from the right faceoff dot seemed to fool Ramblers’ goalie Matt Williams.
Alex Lafreniere tied things up 4:36 into the middle period when he put a loose puck by Aces goalie Joey May. May made the original save, but the puck went up in the air and Lafreniere got to the rebound before he could.
Amherst took its first lead of the game 8:24 into the second when Casey Fox took a cross ice pass from Stephen Fox and beat May through the legs.
Leighton Holstein tied things up six minutes into the third when he scored off a scramble for a loose puck in front of Williams.
Hunter McIntyre had probably the nicest goal of the night to restore the Ramblers’ lead when he one-timed a pass from between the hashmarks off a pass from Dawson Grenier, who fooled the Aces’ defence into thinking he was taking the puck behind the goal when instead he passed it out front to McIntyre who had pinched in from the point.
The Aces outshot Amherst 27-26 and May also had to stop a penalty shot late in the second period when Nick Snow was pulled down on a breakaway.
Amherst moves to 12-4 on the season, three points behind first-place Yarmouth in the Eastlink South Division. St. Stephen fell to 7-9-2, fifth in the Eastlink South Division two points behind fourth-place Edmundston, where Amherst is Saturday night.
