WESTVILLE ROAD – Not that long ago, the Junior A Crushers were given up for dead by some MHL observers.
“You hear a little bit of talk like that and you try to take it with a grain of salt,” veteran winger Alex Bonaparte mused, prior to a team practice this week, “but if that doesn't motivate you, I don’t know what else does.”
Expectations can change with a few wins, coupled with a Truro Bearcats team headed in the wrong direction.
On Thursday at the Pictou County Wellness Centre, the Crushers can vault into a playoff spot with a win over the Yarmouth Mariners, if the Bearcats, losers of nine of 10, come up short against the South Shore Lumberjacks the same night.
“The boys are pumped and we need a win. We’re not putting too much pressure on ourselves, but we need to win,” said Nick Jessome, whose goal late in the third period gave Pictou County a much-needed 4-3 victory last Friday in Yarmouth.
Jessome, whom coach Doug Doull said was a “a hateful badger” against the Mariners, is a 20-year-old castoff from the Edmundston Blizzard who came to Pictou County in mid-November after getting good feedback about the organization from former Crushers captain Benji Curtis.
According to Jessome, the Blizzard planned to release him if they couldn’t find a trade partner.
“I got no other offers, so I asked Edmundston to trade me here. I love it here, great billet and my roommates are nice, so I can’t complain.”
Pictou County also has a big divisional game on Friday, when they are at the Valley Wildcats. Heading into Thursday’s game, the teams were tied with 28 points each, a single point behind Truro and the final playoff spot in the South Division.
“The Valley game’s going to be huge, they beat us here last time (Jan. 11),” Bonaparte said. “So we definitely didn’t forget about that. We’ll be ready for them.”
Crusher Notes:
• Since Sept. 28, Pictou County is 1-8-1 at the PCWC. “You hate losing games on home ice,” Bonaparte said. “It’s a big disappointment to our fans and to us.”
• Defenceman Giancarlo Fiori will serve the second of a three-game suspension against Yarmouth. He drew the suspension when he speared an Amherst Ramblers player on Jan. 11.
• Aiden Hickey and Jaden Mason (illness) might miss the game against Yarmouth.
• Doull divulged an interesting fact about his team: they have been bettering their opponents in shot attempts of late – even against the Ramblers on Jan. 11 (an 8-3 loss that saw Amherst get a seven-minute power play at one point). The good news: they’re shooting the puck a lot. The bad news: they’re not hitting the net enough.
“We have strong glass at the Pictou County Wellness Centre,” the coach wryly commented, lamenting the number of shots that have rattled glass behind the opponent’s net.
• All three games this season between Pictou County and Yarmouth have had 4-3 final scores. The Crushers are 1-1 in Yarmouth, and lost in a shootout at home (Dec. 15).
BY THE NUMBERS
Pictou County Crushers
Record: 12-15-4 (tied for 5th, South Division)
Top Scorers: Michael Dill (14G, 19A), Dylan Riley (13G, 17A), Jacob Hickey (16G, 13A).
Stats Say: In their past eight games, the Crushers have averaged about 55 per cent in possession numbers, a very good success rate.
Yarmouth Mariners
Record: 23-9-1 (tied for 1st, South Division)
Top Scorers: Matt Barron (6G, 32A), Aaron Maillett (15G, 18A), Matt Smith (14G, 19A).
Stats Say: The Mariners have nine players on its roster with 20 or more points.
