COCHRANE, Ont. – The Cochrane Crunch used the strength of a three-goal third period to send them on their way to an eventual 6-1 triumph over the Espanola Express Friday night in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League match-up at Tim Horton Event Centre.
Mitchell Booth got the home side going as he notched his first NOJHL goal near the six-minute mark of the first period to put Cochrane up early during a man advantage opportunity.
T.J. Delaney’s fifth of the campaign added to the Crunch cushion midway through the stanza while Kyle Herbster’s effort with 22 seconds remaining in the frame made it 3-0 after one.
Cochrane got one more 10:09 into the middle stanza when Booth added another to put the Crunch up by four heading into the final period.
In the third Jackson Heacock got Espanola on the board with 6:41 remaining as he picked up his first NOJHL tally while putting an end to Cochrane netminder Josh Barrett’s shutout bid in the process.
Nicolas Flanders answered that however, 27 seconds later, for the Crunch to go with an earlier assist when he ran a modest point streak to four along the way.
Skating in his second game with the club, newcomer Laramie Kostelansky rounded out the scoring with his initial league marker in the late going to cap off a personal three-point night for Cochrane.
Caleb Dolman also chipped in with a pair of assists to aid the Crunch cause.
Barrett finished with 26 stops to record the victory for Cochrane while Jacob Hutchings faced 47 shots in defeat for the Express.
GAME NOTE: The upcoming Crunch home game on Sunday, Nov. 12 vs. the Hearst Lumberjacks, originally scheduled for Jus Jordan Arena in Iroquois Falls, has been moved up three hours and will now be held at Tim Horton Event Centre in Cochrane and features a start time of 7 p.m.