Originally published in the Eston Press Review (April 1, 2014)
The Eston Ramblers claimed the 2014 SHA senior ‘B’ provincial title March 29 with a 4-3 overtime defeat of the Esterhazy Flyers.
The victory earned the Ramblers the provincial title in a two-game sweep of the Flyers. Eston cut down a short-handed Esterhazy squad March 22 on home ice to get a leg up in the best-of-three provincial championship.
“All I can really say is how proud I am of the boys,” said head coach Derek Christiaens Monday morning. “They really dug in and played a complete team game. We had all three lines going.
“It was a total team effort.”
As Christiaens predicted following the Game 1 victory, things weren’t quite as easy in Esterhazy as they were on home ice in Eston.
The Flyers utilized a deeper lineup to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period but before the opening 20 minutes were in the books, the Ramblers had stormed back to knot things up.
Hard, physical hockey was the name of the game as the Ramblers and Flyers slugged it out through 40 minutes, all even at 2-2 heading into the final frame. A Ramblers win would end the provincial quest for Esterhazy. A Flyers win would set up a rubber match Sunday afternoon.
“They had a lot more energy and they were coming hard,” said Ramblers goaltender/manager Jonathan Meyer Monday morning. “They were coming to win.”
Not content to send their hometown fans out of the Dana Antal Arena unhappy, the Flyers pulled ahead 3-2 with 10 minutes remaining in regulation before Ramblers forward Kelsey Muench drew Eston even late in the period to force overtime.
If tying the game wasn’t enough to solidify Muench as the Game 2 hero, his overtime performance was. The veteran forward took care of business early scoring in the first two minutes of extra time, leaving no opportunity for the Flyers to force a third and deciding game.
“He’s a rock up the middle for us,” Christiaens said of Muench’s play this season. “He does all the little things right.
“His compete level is second-to-none. The guy is one of the better senior hockey players that I’ve played against or even coached.”
The celebration carried on through the night in Esterhazy as the team and members of Rambler Nation didn’t bus home until Sunday afternoon. Upon arriving back in Eston, the party continued as fans and friends joined the club to congratulate them on a hard-earned provincial title.
“It never gets old. It’s one of the best feelings in the world,” Meyer said. “As soon as we scored that goal, you can’t even explain the emotion. It was very emotional, intense, good hockey game.”
The win resonated throughout the entire community. Following the game town councillor Lori Ries tweeted, “Congrats Eston Ramblers. You are true champions showing what Eston is made of – grit, determination, grace under pressure! Did us proud!”
According to Meyer, 50 fans from Eston made the bus trip across the province with the team while an estimated 20 more members of Rambler Nation found their own way to Esterhazy.
“We have the best fans in the world,” Meyer said. “I think every rink we show up to, they’re quite shocked that we have such a big following but that’s just how this organization is.
“It just goes to show you we have the best fans in the league and we certainly couldn’t have done it without them. (Esterhazy) had a full barn too. They had a loud barn but the 50-some fans we had seemed to have made a lot more noise than the few hundred they had.”
Apart from the fans physically present in the building Saturday night, Meyer said the presence of the Ramblers number-one fan was felt throughout the arena and on the bench.
Derek “Yoda” Collins passed away Dec. 19 and the following day, the Ramblers dedicated the remainder of 2013-14 season to his memory.
“He never missed a game when he was home and he came to a lot of road games. He was our number-one supporter,” Meyer said. “No matter what happened, he was always there for us.
“We wanted to win this one for him. It was definitely special. You could definitely tell throughout the game that he was looking down on us.”
The provincial championship ensured an up-and-down year ended on a high note for the Ramblers, who, after finishing fifth in the 12-team Sask Valley Hockey League with a record of 16-6-0-0, lost a five-game playoff heartbreaker to the Kyle Elks in the semifinals.
Meyer wished to thank all the support from fans and sponsors throughout the 2013-14 season. The Ramblers will close out the festivities on the successful campaign when they host their annual year-end awards banquet April 11. Details on time/location are still to come.
TAYLOR ROCCA 