Jr. A Crushers hosting Ramblers in crucial Bent Division contest

NEW GLASGOW – The Pictou County Weeks Crushers are down to four games in their regular season schedule.
The Crushers will host the Amherst Ramblers Thursday in New Glasgow and will visit the Yarmouth Mariners Friday in their next MHL games.
All four remaining games are against rivals in the Bent Division, where the standings remain extremely close among the top five teams.
A win over the Ramblers would allow the Crushers to leap into second place in the Bent Division standings. Just five points separate the Ramblers from the fifth-place Truro Bearcats.
The Crushers trail the first-place Mariners by four points. They lost a chance to gain ground on Yarmouth last Thursday when they dropped an 8-4 decision to the Mariners.
The Mariners took a 4-1 lead in the first period and chased starting goaltender Jean-Sebastien Boucher with their fifth goal early in the second period.
Jason Smallman’s 19th goal of the season was the lone Crushers’ goal in the first period.
Nick Parker scored his first of two goals late in the second period after the Mariners had widened their lead to 6-2.
Parker and Garrett Holmes tallied in the third period, a much better one than the first two for the Crushers. They were outshot 36-13 through the first two periods but enjoyed a 15-12 edge in shots in the final frame.
Boucher bounced back with a win Friday as the Crushers defeated the host Bridgewater Lumberjacks 4-3.
Goals by Jordan McInnis and Cody Squires gave the Crushers a 2-1 lead through one period, while Parker snapped a 2-2 tie with a goal in the second period and Devan Gunn widened the Crushers’ lead in the third period. The Crushers outshot the Lumberjacks 35-26.
In a rare home game Saturday, the Crushers needed goals by Mitchell Deruelle and Danny Wicks during a shootout to edge the Campbellton Tigers 4-3.
After a scoreless first period, the Crushers took a 3-2 lead in the second period on goals by Jordan Moore, Brandon Verge and Holmes. They outshot Campbellton 20-6 in the period and 40-31 over the game.