WESTVILLE ROAD – Let’s not sugarcoat things – the Junior A Crushers need a win badly.
And with the Valley Wildcats coming into the Pictou County Wellness Centre (PCWC) on Thursday, the Crushers have an opportunity to pull into a virtual tie with the Wildcats in the standings (a regulation win would give the Crushers 11 points on the season to match the Wildcats, although Valley does have a game in hand).
“For sure, we’re chasing them,” said co-captain Evan MacLennan.
“Right now, every game is pretty much a must-win.”
Facing three of the best teams in the Maritime Hockey League in a six-day stretch over the course of the past week (Summerside Western Capitals, Truro Bearcats and Yarmouth Mariners), the Crushers went 0-2-1 to fall a bit further behind in the Maritime Hockey League’s South Division and saw their record fall to 2-11-5.
In their 5-1 loss to the Yarmouth Mariners on Nov. 6, the Crushers didn’t have a lot of jump in the first period and found themselves down 2-0 after 20 minutes at the PCWC.
“All the little things we went over before the game, we didn’t take care of it,” MacLennan said. “(The Mariners) tried to push us around, and some of the guys let them. That was a big problem for us.”
The Crushers managed to put some heat on Yarmouth through much of the second period, but Yarmouth tacked on two more before Chad Wilson broke through for the Crushers, stuffing the puck past Yarmouth goaltender Tyler Caseley from the side of the net. But that would be it for the home side, with the Mariners getting the only goal in the third period, outshooting Pictou County overall 41-27.
Connor Peveril had two goals for the Mariners (15-3), Noah McMullin, Brett Crossley and Logan Timmins also scored.
The Crushers play in Yarmouth on Sunday night, and won’t play at home until Nov. 22.
BY THE NUMBERS
Pictou County Crushers
Record: 2-11-5 (6th place, South Division)
Top Scorers: Barrett Dachyshyn (6G, 10A), Dylan Riley (4G, 12A), Evan MacLennan (8G, 3A).
Valley Wildcats
Record: 4-10-5 (5th place, South Division)
Top Scorers: Matt Warner (7G, 11A), Landon Quinney (4G, 12A), Tommy Roger (3G, 7A).
