The Hearst Lumberjacks are looking forward to the opportunity to defend the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League Championship they won in April. The Lumberjacks play a couple of home-and-home pre-season games this week versus the Cochrane Crunch. Head Coach Marc Lafleur says they have seven returning players back from last year’s club including three on defense. He adds that there might be a possibility of adding a fourth.
“They know the program, they know the expectations and have been very good leaders for the new guys right now,” said Lafleur, who played for the Kapuskasing Flyers in the early 1990s before moving on to play NCAA Division I Hockey.
Those in junior hockey refer to the season as a marathon and not a sprint and the Hearst native says they were able to turn things around after a sub .500 start back in November and then building towards the championship. The Lumberjacks regular season faces off on Saturday, Sept. 14 versus the Powassan Voodoos in Hearst at 7 pm followed by a visit to the Cochrane Crunch on Sunday, Sept. 15.
