POWASSAN – Dustin Cordeiro registered a hat trick and the Cochrane Crunch scored three times in the third period to break open a tie game as they defeated the Powassan Voodoos 7-4 in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action Saturday at the Powassan Sportsplex.
The visiting Crunch grabbed a 2-0 lead early in the contest on goals by Daniel Stagg and Aviv Milner only to see the Voodoos battle back on markers from David Sherman and Jake Staples to level the proceedings before the opening session was complete.
Each side tacked on two more each in the second with Cordeiro tacking on two for Cochrane while affiliate Joe Whittet and Nathaniel McLeod countered for Powassan.
In the final frame, Henry Berger notched the eventual game-winner at 8:58 as he struck shorthanded for a second straight night.
Stagg’s second of the evening added some insurance with seven minutes to go before Cordeiro capped off his three-tally night with an empty netter with 26 seconds to go.
Cordeiro, a second team NOJHL all-star, finishes the regular season with 47 goals to his credit, which was the second most in the league.
In all, he had 14 multi-goal games, including three hat tricks.
Milner also chipped in with two assists for the Crunch with Steve Harland doing likewise for Powassan.
Brett Young’s 32 saves helped him earn the victory for Cochrane while Voodoos affiliate Colton Point faced 35 attempts in defeat.
Powassan will now gear up to take on the Mattawa Blackhawks in game 1 of their divisional quarter-final starting Monday with the opener in that best-of-three getting underway at 7 p.m. at the Sportsplex.
As for Cochrane they’ll take on Abitibi in a best-of-seven NOJHL East semifinal beginning next week.
The Crunch will have home ice advantage in that one by virtue of one more win after finishing tied with the Eskimos in points and having an identical head-to-head record.
