Cochrane Crunch

Cochrane Crunch
City:	Cochrane, Ontario, Canada
League:	Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League
Founded:	2007
Home Arena:	Tim Horton Events Centre
General Manager:	Ryan Leonard
Head Coach:	Ryan Leonard
Franchise history
2007-2014:	Elliot Lake Bobcats
2014-2023:	Cochrane Crunch
2023-present:	Iroquois Falls Storm

The Cochrane Crunch were a Canadian Junior ice hockey team based out of Cochrane, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and were former members of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League. The team was previously known as the Elliot Lake Bobcats of Elliot Lake, Ontario until the 2014-15 season. when they became the Cochrane Crunch.

On May 8, 2023 the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League announced that it had approved the relocation of the Crunch franchise to Iroquois Falls for the 2023-24 season. The team would be renamed the Iroquois Falls Storm.

History

The expansion of the Bobcats made them the tenth team in the independent GMHL and one of six 2007 expansion teams.

The Bobcats are Elliot Lake's first Junior "A" team since the folding of the Elliot Lake Ice in 1999.

On September 7, 2007, the Elliot Lake Bobcats played their first ever game, at home, against the Espanola Kings. The Bobcats also picked up their first win as they defeated the Kings 3-2.

On January 1, 2008, the Bobcats hosted the Moscow Selects All-star team in an exhibition game. The Selects won the game by a score of 9-2. This was the third game of seven that the Moscow team played against different GMHL clubs.

The Bobcats played against Kazakhstan's Torpedo UST-Kamenogorsk Under-18 squad on January 8, 2009 in an international exhibition game. The Bobcats won the game 5-3.

In Mid-January 2011, it was announced that the town of Iron Bridge, Ontario and its 500-seat Outdoor Arena would host a regular season game, known as the North Shore Winter Classic, between the Elliot Lake Bobcats and Algoma Avalanche on January 29, 2011. This is the first known regulation outdoor game in Ontario in the modern era. Elliot Lake would win the game 8-2 in front of an estimated 400 fans.

On April 2, 2011, the Bobcats won the 2011 Russell Cup Championship over the South Muskoka Shield 4-games-to-3 with an 8-5 victory. The Bobcats were down 3-games-to-1 in the series, but came back with three straight victories to win their first league title. The Bobcats are the first GMHL team that did not participate in the inaugural 2006-07 season to win the Russell Cup.

In 2011-12, the Bobcats finished 5th in the GMHL. The Bobcats played the Bobcaygeon Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. The Bobcats defeated the Bucks 2-games-to-1. In the league quarter-final, their season ended abruptly losing 3-games-to-1 to the South Muskoka Shield.

Known as the Bobcats from 2007 until 2014, this was the logo of the team when they played in the NOJHL.

In April 2012, the Elliot Lake Bobcats became members of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, leaving the GMHL after five seasons, two regular season titles, and winning the 2011 championship. On September 7, 2012, the Bobcats played their first game in the NOJHL. They played the North Bay Trappers and lost 8-0.On September 21, 2012 the Bobcats won their first NOJHL game 6-2 over the Blind River Beavers. The Bobcats will be moving to Cochrane, Ontario for the 2014-15 NOJHL Season. The team will be called the Cochrane Crunch. In April 2015, the Crunch qualified for the league finals for the first time in franchise history carried over from the Elliot Lake Bobcats from their inception in 2012-13. The Cochrane Crunch swept the Powassan Voodoos 4 games to 0 to become East Division champions.

former team logo 2014-2021

Season-by-Season Standings

Season	GP	W	L	T	OL	GF	GA	P	Result	Playoffs
2007-08	42	26	13	-	3	203	170	55	5th GMHL	Lost Semi-final
2008-09	43	31	8	-	4	276	119	66	4th GMHL	Lost Division Final
2009-10	42	35	4	-	3	297	152	73	1st GMHL	Lost Semi-final
2010-11	42	38	2	-	2	320	144	78	1st GMHL	Won League
2011-12	42	28	11	-	3	236	145	59	5th GMHL	Lost Quarter-final
2012-13	48	15	31	0	2	147	238	32	6th NOJHL	Lost Quarter-final
2013-14	56	26	24	0	6	200	203	58	5th NOJHL	Lost Quarter-final
Cochrane Crunch
2014-15	52	29	21	0	2	226	188	60	2nd of 5 East 5th of 9 NOJHL	Lost League Final
2015-16	54	40	10	2	2	298	169	84	1st of 6 East 2nd of 12 NOJHL	Lost Division Final
2016-17	56	38	13	1	4	257	175	81	2nd of 6 East 3rd of 12 NOJHL	Lost Division Semifinal
2017-18	56	36	17	2	1	233	165	75	2nd of 6 East 4th of 12 NOJHL	Won League Championship finish 4th in Round Robin at 2018 Dudley Hewitt Cup
2018-19	56	31	20	4	1	200	186	67	5th of 6 East T-7th of 12 NOJHL	Lost Div. Preliminary
2019-20	56	26	25	2	3	166	189	57	4th of 6 East 8th of 12 NOJHL	Won Preliminary Round and then playoffs are cancelled
2020-21	21	4	15	0	2	55	122	10	3rd East	No Playoffs
2021-22	48	2	43	1	2	91	270	7	6th East	Did not qualify
2022-23	58	7	49	1	1	99	327	16	T-5th East	Did not qualify

Playoffs

• 2008 Lost Semi-final

Elliot Lake Bobcats defeated Nipissing Alouettes 4-games-to-1 in bye round

Elliot Lake Bobcats defeated Deseronto Storm 4-games-to-2 in quarter-final

Bradford Rattlers defeated Elliot Lake Bobcats 4-games-to-none in semi-final

• 2009 Lost Division Final

Elliot Lake Bobcats defeated Minden Riverkings 3-games-to-none in division quarter-final

Received a bye through Division Semi-final

South Muskoka Shield defeated Elliot Lake Bobcats 4-games-to-1 in division final

• 2010 Lost Semi-final

Elliot Lake Bobcats defeated Algoma Avalanche 3-games-to-none in quarter-final

Deseronto Storm defeated Elliot Lake Bobcats 4-games-to-2 in semi-final

• 2011 Won League

Elliot Lake Bobcats defeated Powassan Dragons 3-games-to-none in quarter-final

Elliot Lake Bobcats defeated Toronto Canada Moose 4-games-to-none in semi-final

Elliot Lake Bobcats defeated South Muskoka Shield 4-games-to-3 in final

• 2012 Lost Quarter-final

Elliot Lake Bobcats defeated Bobcaygeon Bucks 2-games-to-1 in bye round

South Muskoka Shield defeated Elliot Lake Bobcats 3-games-to-1 in quarter-final

• 2013 Lost Quarter-final

Sudbury Nickel Barons defeated Elliot Lake Bobcats 4-games-to-3 in quarter-final

• 2014 Lost Quarter-final
• 2015 Lost League final
• 2016 Lost Division Final

Cochrane Crunch defeated Timmins Rock 4-games-to-none in division semifinal

Kirkland Lake Gold Miners defeated defeated Cochrane Crunch 4-games-to-1 in Division final

• 2017 Lost Division Semifinal

Timmins Rock defeated Cochrane Crunch 4-games-to-2

• 2018 Won League

Cochrane Crunch defeated Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 4-games-to-

Cochrane Crunch defeated Timmins Rock 4-games-to-1

Cochrane Crunch defeated Rayside-Balfour Canadians 4-games-to-2

Finish in 4th place in Round Robin portion of 2018 Dudley Hewitt Cup and are eliminated

• 2019 Lost in Preliminary Round

Timmins Rock defeated Cochrane Crunch 2 games-to-none

• 2020 Playoffs cancelled after preliminary round

Cochrane Crunch defeated Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 2 games-to-1

Balance of playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

• 2021 No playoffs

No playoffs held

• 2022 Did not qualify

• 2023 Did not qualify

External links

• Cochrane Crunch Webpage