Eston Ramblers hope for bounce-back campaign - win home opener
By Jordan Parker
The SVHL Eston Ramblers were felled in the playoffs last year but are looking to come back strong this season.
Player Cam Oliphant – who has decided against coaching this season – sees a chance to write a new storyline with this team.
“Last year didn’t go how we wanted it to. We lost in the first round of the playoffs to Outlook. They were a strong team, and we couldn’t pull together a full team effort. We needed to hit our stride and just couldn’t,” he said.
“It seemed like if we were scoring, we had a poor game defensively. Things just wouldn’t gel. The playoffs were tough, and we had a difficult opponent. We want things to go differently this year.”
He wants to see the Eston Ramblers – now under the eye of Coach Donnie Harstock and Assistant Coach John Dahl – to just keep improving each game.
“We can become stronger as a team and just play our own game right away. Every game, we need to feed off the previous effort. When we get to the playoffs, we need to be in a good position, and get that good first-round match-up,” he said.
“We want our league play to be really good, to gain confidence, have a full line-up, and be better than last year all-around.”
With rinks closed in 2020 and an early shutdown in 2021, last year marked the first time many players got back on the ice for a full season. With that behind them, Oliphant sees everyone getting used to the level of play.
“Guys don’t skate all summer in senior. It takes a bit to get back into shape. But this year, it won’t take as long to shake those cobwebs,” he said. “I think we’re back where we need to be because those seasons off really did make it tough.”
One stumbling block, however, is the massive turnover that Eston saw coming into this year’s gameplay.
“We lost ten players and gained nine. With so many changes, we’ve definitely been getting used to each other during skates. Kids move away, guys come in from other towns, and we just have to hit the ground running,” he said.
“I can’t wait to get playing, get the chemistry going, and feel things out. It’s about seeing how other guys play and seeing what we really have here.”
He says he felt good about the way Eston played last year, even though the result wasn’t what they wanted.
“I thought we played hard. The effort was always there. It’s just offensively, we need to play hard. That’s all you can ask,” he said.
“Offense is the name of the game in senior hockey. The SVHL is a run-and-gun league. We need to play the same way.”
Their first game of the season – a weekend reunion with playoff rivals Outlook – had the Ramblers preparing for a hard-fought opener.
The Ramblers came away with an 11-6 victory on Friday, November 4 at the AGT Arena in Eston.
The offensive outburst was led by Jesse Mychan’s 2 goals and 4 assist night. Dylan Smith (2 goals, 2 assists) and Jesse Ismond (1 goal, 3 assists), Matt Pufahl (1 goal, 2 assists), Brett Howe (1 goal, 2 assists), Riley Lahey (1 goal, 1 assist), Gavin Halter-Metcalf (1 goal, 1 assist), Derek Smith (1 goal), Cam Oliphant (1 goal). Single helpers were credited to Jesse Duchscherer, Ben Webb and Ty Wright.
Hudson Killam stopped 45 of the 51 shots he faced for the win between the pipes.
“Outlook came into the season in the same boat we are. There was major turnover,” he said. “It’s just a fun league to play in, and the games are interesting to watch.”
Eston’s game against the Delisle Bruins on Saturday night was postponed due to the winter storm that blew through the west-central area.