May 1, 2023 – Cochrane, Ontario: The Cochrane Crunch have applied to the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League to relocate to Iroquois Falls.

When asked to comment Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis stated, “We appreciate that the Cochrane Crunch are a private business and as such are at liberty to choose which community they play for. At the same time, Cochrane and Iroquois Falls are neighbouring communities who have a long history of battling adversity together and supporting each other in everything we do. This is no different. If the Crunch move to Iroquois Falls, we will be the first to congratulate our friends. We will continue our mutually supportive relationship and continue to stand behind our northern family in each community.

Cochrane has become used to a very high standard in Junior A Hockey. Since coming into the NOJHL, The Cochrane Crunch have been an important part of branding the NOJHL in our region. For our first six years in the league, the Cochrane Crunch:

• Was a perennial participant in the Eastern Conference Championship.
• Have won a league championship.
• Have been to two Dudley Hewitt Cups.
• Has been the only community in the Eastern Conference to host a Dudley Hewitt Cup.
• And has had league goal scoring champions

Since the team was sold, we haven’t quite seen the same standard. We don’t know why exactly, however COVID-19 surely had something to do with that. The product has not been the same and that has an impact on the fan base. We were excited about seeing the product improve post pandemic, and hope this is still the case going forward. If the league chooses to endorse the team moving to Iroquois Falls we will thank the Crunch for being part of our community and all the great memories, while congratulating our friends in Iroquois Falls and wishing them nothing but the best of success.

At the same time, we will immediately begin to work with the league to source another ownership group to resurrect the same phenomenal product and success we experienced in the past to not only showcase NOJHL hockey at it’s best, but to continue to be an important part of branding both our community and the league region wide”.

Contacts:
Peter Politis, Cochrane Mayor, 705-272-9527; Peter.Politis@cochraneontario.com