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McCain aim to do Maritimes proud – Metro US

McCain aim to do Maritimes proud

If head coach Steve Crowell has his way, the Cole Harbour McCain won’t suffer from an inferiority complex at the Canadian midget hockey championship this week.

“Our biggest message to the team is that we’re not going just to show up,” Crowell said. “You can’t go in thinking, ‘Oh, we’re the lowly Maritime entry, let’s just be glad we got here.’ We’re good, and we’ve got to go in there with the strut and confidence we’ve taken from provincials and Atlantics.”

Crowell isn’t lying when he says his team is good. Cole Harbour hasn’t lost a game in more than five weeks. The club’s 11-game winning streak includes a four-game sweep over the feared Dartmouth Subways and a 5-0 romp at the Atlantic championships in Gander, N.L., earlier this month.

Stuart Lenehan, the MVP at Atlantics, and Jordon Burke, the tournament’s leading scorer, have been the key figures for Cole Harbour, but Crowell, who takes pride in team depth, also credited the efforts of his full 20-man roster.

“Everybody on our team has a role and everybody’s been playing them to a T,” Crowell said. “Our defence has been outstanding and we’ve been getting great goaltending.”

Cole Harbour, which has been idle for 14 days since its triumph at Atlantics, opens the Telus Cup today at 1 p.m. against Quebec City’s Seminaire St-Francois Blizzard.

The six-team tournament concludes on Sunday.

“The one thing this these guys have is great team speed,” said Crowell, who is making his sixth trip to nationals. “I think we can make some noise. We’re hoping to bring home a medal.”