Brisson strikes twice as Crunch get past Rapids

COCHRANE, Ont. – The Cochrane Crunch picked up a pair of goals from Alex Brisson to help lead them to a 5-3 victory over the French River Rapids in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play Friday at Tim Horton Event Centre.

Brisson got Cochrane going offensively as he picked up his first of the night 3:18 into the contest.

The Crunch then went up by a pair later in the frame when Kyle Herbster struck shorthanded to notch his 23rd tally of the season.

T.J. Delaney upped the home side’s cushion 65 seconds into the middle stanza as he collected his ninth marker overall.

French River regrouped and cut into the deficit midway through the session thanks to a Connor Loft man advantage effort to make it 3-1 after 40 minutes.

Levi Siau’s 18th goal pulled the Rapids to within one 3:34 into the third only to see Nicolas Flanders and Brisson add some insurance for Cochrane later in the period.

A late power play marker from French River’s Stephen Calisti provided the night’s final offensive effort at 19:03 to round out the scoring.

Austin Whelan had two assists for the Crunch as did Siau for the Rapids.

Earning the win in net for Cochrane was Taylor Unruh who made 24 stops along the way.

Josh Barrett faced 42 shots in defeat for French River.