7 straight for Crunch bunch
Riding the crest of a seven-game winning streak, Cochrane Crunch is now the hottest team in the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.
And in winning its seventh straight game on Monday night, Cochrane completed a rare feat in handing the league-leading Powassan Voodoos their first loss at home since back on September 25.
The 5-2 road win for Cochrane improved its record to 31-11-5 and moved coach Ryan Leonard’s Crunch bunch to within 7 points of Powassan in the West Division standings though the Voodoos do have 3 games in hand.
A sign of things to come?? I have to keep my average high lol, been covering the NOJHL full time since 2011-12, have called games in the NOJHL Finals in each year except the two KL/SOO series (though I did do colour for the Dudley last year in KL so that counts lol)
The Crunch picked up two good players in Taylor Unruh and Nate Viberg from the Express. Still can’t see why Espanola let these two players go (maybe for money?).
Viberg, along with Smith, who went to the Gold Miners, were two offensive players the Express definitely needed.
I follow the Crunch closely. Their depth goes across every line. Like the Voodoo, they play hard for 3 periods. the key difference between the two teams is Cochrane has superior skills on the bench that are going to stay there.. Their team is not a training ground for an OHL team so their lines aren’t going to be predated by the parent team. When the Voodoos lost two defensemen earlier this month it seems to have weakened their game. I would not bet they are going to win the Copeland cup. Maybe they can breeze into town and win a game but I am betting they aren’t a playoff team. The guys up North are licking their chops looking forward to playoff series. The teams up here are getting better and stronger. A couple of injuries and a call up to North Bay and the Voodoos talent base is getting picked clean.
After being stared down by them in Iroquois Falls for cheering on my Eskis, I look forward to seeing them get their oughts. I am celebrating the Crunch’s victory with bells and whistles. Lets see how the Voodoos play through the end of the season. The playoffs is where they have to play teams that have a mission to beat the Voodoos and nothing counts for more than wanting to hand out well deserved payback.
With 10 Americans on the team the Crunch will be hard to Trump. Ahem.
Another year of disappointment is awaiting the crunch. This team never has the stamina to upset anyone. The run and gun style that leonard preaches is not conducive to a long playoff run. It will be the TBIRDS vs POWASSAN in the final. Also a few observations. Where are the fans in blind river ? Finally you have a team that competes hard every night and only 200 fans show up. Now that the team has shown some success on the ice it is time for the fans to either show up or shut up. I know that blind river is in a small market but 200 fans just doesn’t cut it especially when the BEAVERS are the only show in town. The team deserves better, Kyle Brick and his coaching staff deserve better. Also shame on the tech for putting the TBIRDS franchise in turmoil in their first year of ownership. It seems that these new owners know nothing about running a hockey team and as rumours persist they seem to be doing a good job of running their new business venture into the ground. Hopefully they can turn things around but sometimes first impressions last a lifetime.
K
I think this year Cochrane can achieve playoff success with Leonards’ run and gun style ONLY if he leverages entire bench. Other teams are too deep this year for Cochrane to play with two lines at the first sign of trouble.
Last game against Voodoos proved that. Started to line match as the visiting team and struggled early . When penalty trouble started, matchups couldn’t hold and team did just fine when they focused on playing their game instead of worrying who they were playing against.
But old habits die hard so it remains to be seen.
As far as the situation in Blind river, it remains a mystery with the talent and coaching this season. It doesn’t add up.