NOJHL returns to Manitoulin
Courtesy a neutral site game between the Cochrane Crunch and the Espanola Express, the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League will make a return to Manitoulin Island tonight.
In what is a home game for Espanola, the Express will face Cochrane at 7:30 tonight at NEMI Arena in Little Current.
Manitoulin iced a team in the NOJHL from 2003 until 2011.
The team was known as the Manitoulin Wild from 2003 until 2005 and the Manitoulin Islanders from 2005 until 2011.
The Islanders played their home games at aforementioned NEMI Arena in Little Current and featured coaches Todd Stencill (who later had success in the NOJHL as bench boss of the Blind River Beavers) and Reggie Leach, the National Hockey League Hall of Fame scoring sensation from his days with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Among the notable players who suited up for the Islanders over the years were star goalie Billy (The Kid) Stone, hulking defenseman Dale Herodier and truculent winger Jody (Bad News) Biedermann.