IN PURSUIT OF SCHMALZ CUP
Essex taking on Dorchester in QF
The head coach’s chair in his office at the Essex Centre Sports Complex has to feel a little more comfortable for Cam Crowder.
The 32-year-old Crowder knew there would be questions when he replaced Gil Langlois as head coach of the Essex 73’s after Langlois stepped down for health reasons.
Despite a second-place finish in the regular season, Crowder, his staff and players delivered a sixthstraight Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League title with a four-game sweep of the top-seeded Lakeshore Canadiens.
“I think everyone looked at us as the underdog,” Crowder said. “We have the pressure of what we established here for a long time with a winning track record. I probably put a little more pressure on myself to make sure we got it done.”
Now, the 73’s take aim at the provincial junior C title and the Schmalz Cup. The club opens a quarter-final series against the Dorchester Dolphins on Tuesday. The opener in the best-ofseven series goes at 7:30 p.m. at the Essex Centre Sports Complex.
Crowder was the choice of Langlois to be his successor. The son of former NHLer Keith Crowder, he played for the 73’s and won a Schmalz Cup title and spent two seasons as an assistant coach under Langlois.
“Gil said to me, ‘Cam’s ready,’ ” 73’s general manager Scott Miller said. “Anytime you change a coach, coming off the success Gil had, people are watching. Cam’s done a great job.”
But there was the odd tough day for Crowder as the 73’s finished in second behind the Canadiens.
“I have a business in town, so whenever we lost or tied, I made a point of not being in the store,” Crowder said. “I think there was disappointment in not finishing first (because) that’s the expectation, but when you win the way we won, it kind of validates the things you’ve done all year.”
Players will tell you Crowder is a little more focused on defence and grittiness, but there was never an issue with the change.
“I expected it to be a bit different, but Crowd’s been doing a good job,” said 73’s forward Tyler Scott, in his fourth season. “I don’t think you need to make any adjustment for that.”
Crowder has made the job his own while maintaining the pillars that helped build the 73’s into a team that has won six-straight titles.
“If you came in as a different coach and didn’t understand the things that were kind of in place already, I think you’d be at a disadvantage,” Crowder said. “I didn’t come in and try to change the world.”