Crushers off to struggling start

Pictou County sit last in South Division

NEW GLASGOW - Wins continue to become hard to come by for the Pictou County Jr. A Crushers to start the 2021-22 campaign.

A 6-2 loss to the Amherst Ramblers Thursday night (Oct. 14) at the Pictou County Wellness Centre (PCWC) was followed by a tough 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Valley Wildcats Saturday in Berwick – a game which saw the Crushers outshoot the hosts 35-31.

The Crushers are 1-5 to start the season and sit last in the Eastlink South Division.

Second-year centre Dave Matthews scored the Crushers’ lone goal versus the Wildcats with assists going to Bryson Boudreau and Nick Mahar.

Ewan MacDonald earned third star in the contest with his 29 stops.

In the home-ice loss to the Ramblers, Venel Campbell and Merle Putnam scored for the Crushers with Campbell earning the game’s second star.

Lucas Parsons, Reid Russett, Neil MacLean, and Cory MacGillvray recorded assists for Pictou County while MacDonald was peppered with 48 shots versus 23 by the Crushers.

LEADERSHIP SHIFT

Followers will have noticed former assistant coach Garrett Lambke is now the head coach for the Crushers while Willie MacDonald is in the general manager’s (GM) role.

Former GM and long-time team executive Chad McDavid said the move was actually done before the start of the season and was simply one to accommodate MacDonald’s busy schedule.

“It was time commitment for Willie,” McDavid said. “With a young family and work commitments outside of hockey, he wasn’t able to put in the time commitment. Garrett, who has been around for a few years and played with us for three, is very familiar with the community and program; it was an easy transition for us.”

The Crushers are next in action Thursday evening at the PCWC when they host the Summerside Western Capitals. Puck drop is 7 p.m.