SUDBURY, Ont. – The second Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) semifinal pits the No. 3 Hearst Lumberjacks taking on the No. 4 Timmins Rock.
They will renew acquaintances beginning Thursday night at Claude Larose Recreation Centre in Hearst at 7 p.m.
This marks the second straight year the two teams will meet in the postseason, with the Lumberjacks coming away victorious in 2025, in another semifinal that went five games.
Here’s a glance at the two sides as they head into the best-of-seven series:
SEASON RECORDS
Playoffs
Lumberjacks: 4-0
Rock: 4-3
Regular season
Lumberjacks: 36-13-0-3 (3rd overall)
Rock: 34-14-0-4 (4th overall)
HEAD COACHES
Lumberjacks: Guy Losier
Rock: Brandon Perry
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Familiar foes, the rivals met a total of nine times during the regular season, with Hearst winning on five occasions, including the final four.
Each team had a victory in overtime, while the Rock outscored the Lumberjacks by a 34-32 count.
RESULTS
Oct. 3: @ Hearst (Lumberjacks 7, Rock 3)
Oct. 6: @ NOJHL Showcase – Sudbury (Rock 6, Lumberjacks 0)
Oct. 30: @ Timmins (Rock 6, Lumberjacks 1)
Jan. 16: @ Timmins (Rock 6, Lumberjacks 2)
Jan. 18: @ Hearst (Rock 5, Lumberjacks 4 – OT)
Jan. 27: @ Timmins (Lumberjacks 5, Rock 2)
Feb. 6: @ Hearst (Lumberjacks 4, Rock 1)
Feb. 14: @ Hearst (Lumberjacks 4, Rock 1)
Feb. 16: @ Timmins (Lumberjacks 5, Rock 4 – OT)
SERIES SCHEDULE
NOJHL semifinal
No. 3 Hearst Lumberjacks vs. No. 4 Timmins Rock
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Thursday, April 2 @ Hearst 7 p.m. (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
Game 2: Saturday, April 4 @ Hearst 7 p.m. (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
Game 3: Monday, April 6 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 4: Wednesday, April 8 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 5*: Friday, April 10 @ Hearst 7 p.m. (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
Game 6*: Monday, April 13 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 7*: Wednesday, April 15 @ Hearst 7 p.m. (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
*-if necessary
THE TEAMS
THE LUMBERJACKS
Playoffs: Hearst was all business in disposing Espanola in the opening round of the playoffs in a four-game sweep. … They fired in 22 goals against the Paper Kings and allowed 12. … Special teams saw the Jacks go 6-19 versus the Paper Kings for a 31.6% clip. … That was third among NOJHL playoff teams. … They were even better on the penalty kill, wrapping up Round 1 sitting second best. … With a solid 94.4% P.K. rate, they only gave up one man-down marker in the 18 times they were shorthanded. … Hearst only collected the first goal in a game once against Espanola and went 1-0 when leading after one period of play and were 2-0 when up after 40 minutes.
Regular season: Hearst went 36-13-0-3 during the regular season and 5-5 in their final 10 games. … Their 75 points tied them with Powassan for the second highest in the league, but the Voodoos ended up with the No. 2 seed over them by virtue of their head-to-head tiebreaker. … The Lumberjacks were tabbed 18th in the final CJHL Top 20 Rankings – Fuelled by Gatorade. … The club went 19-6-0-1 as the home team on the year and were 17-7-0-2 as the visitors. … They tied for second overall in goals scored at 251 and sat fifth in the most allowed at 184. … Hearst ended up fifth in the NOJHL while on the power play at 23.9% and their 76.1% clip on the penalty kill had them in seventh spot. … They did tally 49 times on the man advantage and collected 11 while shorthanded. … When scoring first in a game, the Lumberjacks went 27-4-1. … They were all but unbeatable when leading after one period, boasting an impressive run of 24-0-1-0. … They were even better when up after 40 minutes, sporting a 31-0-1-0 mark.
FORWARDS
Playoffs: NOJHL MVP Mathieu Comeau paced the Lumberjacks in scoring against the Paper Kings, collecting a dozen points, on a trio of tallies and nine helpers. … That ties him for third overall in the league. … Sharing seventh in offensive numbers was Ty McKay. … He picked up eight points along the way, including four goals. … Chase Thompson was next on the squad, as he scored three times and assisted on three others. … Two of his tallies were game-winners, which topped all skaters in the opening round. … Mavrik Chan-Miguel also picked up six points. … McKay and Nathan Seed are tied for third in markers.
Regular season: Led by 102-point man Mathieu Comeau, the contributions of the veteran centre led the NOJHL scoring. … He was also tops in assists in the league with 69 … Comeau’s 316 regular season points are the eighth highest in NOJHL history. … Cameron Menard led the league in goals with 45 while his 84 total points placed him fourth among all skaters. … Since being shipped to Hearst back in December, Menard scored 15 times and assisted on 14 others for 29 points in 24 games after notching 30 markers and aiding on 25 others in his time with Espanola this season. … As for Warner, he collected 25 points in 23 match-ups with the Jacks after having 17 in 17 for the Paper Kings. … Seventh all-time in NOJHL games played with 219, Chase Thompson had another solid campaign in 2025-26. … He was fifth in league scoring, accumulating 76 in total on 27 tallies and 49 helpers, which were also fifth overall. … Fellow forward Ty McKay was well over a point-per-game with Hearst, picking up 71 in 52 outings. … He tied for the team-lead with a trio of shorthanded markers and supplied a half-dozen game-winning goals, while incurring just 10 penalty minutes, which was a team-low among full-time skaters.
DEFENCE
Playoffs: Cole Miller averaged a point-per-game for Hearst vs. Espanola with four assists in as many games. … The trio of Sam Taylor, Royce Abraham and William Pâquet all chipped in with two helpers apiece from the back-end.
Regular season: In his third full season on the Hearst blueline, Julien Trudel led the team offensively from the back end. … Trudel picked up 36 points on the campaign, which was a personal best, as were his 10 goals and 26 assists. … Another D-man who established single-season highs in tallies, helpers and points was Cole Miller. … He scored five times and set-up 27 others for 32 points. … You also had William Pâquet supply 31 points as he found the back of the net on four occasions and doled out 27 assists. … Fourth on the squad in offensive contributions among rearguards was Dylan Garvin, who picked up 23 points.
GOALTENDERS
Playoffs: Jack Helkie won three times as the starting netminder in the quarter-finals and picked up his fourth triumph in a lengthy relief stint. … He’s tied for top spot in playoff victories. … He sits second in terms of goals-against average (1.83) and is fourth in save percentage (.931). … Helkie also posted the only shutout in Round 1.
Regular season: In 15 appearances with Hearst, Jack Helkie went 9-4-1-0 with a goals-against average of 3.36 and a save percentage of .915. … Including his time earlier with Espanola, Helkie had an overall record of 17-13-2-0 with a 3.49 GAA and a .918 save mark and three shutouts. … William Stonehouse sported a record of 9-4-0-0 in 14 appearances. … His average was 3.18, while his SV% was .911. Stonehouse also posted one shutout. … He did win six of his final eight starts.
AWARDS
MVP: Mathieu Comeau
Gilles Laperriere Trophy – Most Improved Player: Ty McKay
The Joe Drago Trophy – NOJHL Director of the Year: Jonathan Blier
ALL-STAR TEAMS
1st Team
Mathieu Comeau (Forward)
2nd Team
Cameron Menard (Forward)
Chase Thompson (Forward)
THE ROCK
Playoffs: Needing to go the distance with the Soo Thunderbirds before eventually prevailing in Game 7 on home ice Tuesday, Timmins is right back it in semifinal action. … They outscored the T-Birds by a 27-17 margin. … The Rock notched a league-high 10-man advantage markers against the Soo and sat second overall in power play proficiency at 35.7%. … They say fourth best in Round 1 on the P.K. at 78.1%. … Timmins was a sharp 3-0 when leading after one period and a spotless 4-0 when up through 40 minutes. … The Rock went 4-1 when supplying the game’s first goal.
Regular season: After a relatively slow start, by their standards, Timmins turned it around by racking up a NOJHL season-high 21-game winning streak, that ran from October 25 through January 18. … Following some injuries to key components of their roster, the Rock went on to finish 34-14-0-4 overall. … At ‘The Mac,’ they had the second-best home record in the league at 20-5-0-1. … Away from home, the club was 14-9-0-3. … Timmins amassed 245 goals in total and tied for the second fewest given up at 149. … Finishing third-best in power play proficiency, the Rock converted at a 25.5% clip. … Their 64-man advantage markers were the second highest total in the league. … On the penalty kill, the team was fifth overall at 79.9%. … They did manage to collect 10 shorthanded goals, the sixth-best number overall. … When notching the game’s initial tally, Timmins went 30-3-2-0. … Holding the lead after one period saw the Rock sit with a solid 25-1-2-0 record. … They were unbeatable when up after 40 minutes, going a perfect 28-0-0-0. … Timmins had 10 games decided in overtime, winning six of them.
FORWARDS
Playoffs: Maxx Hamelin supplied a NOJHL-high 15 points in the triumph against the Thunderbirds. … His six goals also topped all league skaters. … Hamelin is also tied in assists with nine. … Right behind him in offensive production is veteran Kaeden McArthur. … He had 14 points in his first seven contests with five tallies and nine helpers. … His goal count ties him for second in that department. … Rookie Evan Katic shares seventh overall in scoring as he too was over a point-per-game with eight in seven outings.
Regular season: Tying for sixth in league scoring, and leading the team offensively, was veteran Kaeden McArthur. … His 74 points saw him set personal single-season highs in goals and assists with 36 and 38 respectively. … McArthur shared the league lead in game-winning efforts with eight. … He wrapped up his regular season career with 200 points in 166 contests. … Another long-time member of the Rock, in Lucas Lowe, was second on the squad in points with 56 in 49 outings. … A couple of rookies up front held their own in their first year in Timmins. … Matteo Paradiso was over a point-per-game performer in his league debut, collecting 36 in 31 contests on 17 tallies and 19 helpers. … Meanwhile, Evan Katic banged in 10 markers and helped set-up 20 more, for 30 points in 49 appearances.
DEFENCE
Playoffs: NOJHL All-Star Braedyn Cyr leads all defencemen in goals with four. … Cyr also shares top spot in overall numbers from the back-end with seven points. … Returning from injury for the final three games of the series against the Soo, Matthew Kim had three points. … Rookie Jack Quevillon chipped in with a couple of helpers.
Regular season: Rock captain Braedyn Cyr proved to be one of the elite defencemen in the entire league. … Solid at both ends of the ice, Cyr led the club from the back end with 44 points by scoring six times and aiding on 38 others. … 18 of his points came via the power play. … Another crafty Timmins blueliner was Matthew Kim. … He easily surpassed his offensive totals from last season, picking up highs in goals, assists and points with 12, 25 and 37 respectively. … Cyr sat fifth in scoring among NOJHL D-men and Kim was eighth. … Also contributing from the blueline was rookie blueliner Jack Quevillon, who picked up 23 points, including 19 helpers.
GOALTENDERS
Playoffs: Frédéric Cousineau got the starting nod in all seven contests and was more than solid throughout in backstopping Timmins to the series triumph. … His 2.14 goals-against average puts him third overall among netminders, while playing a league-high 450 minutes in Round 1. … He also sits third in save percentage at .931. … Cousineau was tops in stops at 244.
Regular season: Returning from injury in time for the playoffs, Frédéric Cousineau shared the league lead in goals-against average at 2.14. … His overall record of 16-4-0-0 saw him win each of his final 13 starts. … He also topped all NOJHL netminders in save percentage at .934 and posted a shutout in his most recent appearance. …Rookie Ayden Mullen did his part in his initial season of Jr. A hockey. … The 16-year-old goalkeeper went 15-9-3-0 in 28 games played. … He sported a 3.27 GAA, along with a save mark of .891, and a pair of shutouts. … In his six times seeing the net, Virgil Sausset-Plateaux went 3-1-1-0 with a 2.54 average and a .897 SV%.
AWARDS
Wayne Chase Memorial Award – Best Goals-Against Average: Frederic Cousineau (Co-recipient)
ALL-STAR TEAMS
1st Team
Frédéric Cousineau (Goaltender)
Melanie Brousseau-Camirand & Dillon Beaulne (Co-recipients) (Athletic Trainer/Equipment Manager)
2nd Team
Braedyn Cyr (Defence)
Brandon Perry (Head Coach)
3rd Team
Matthew Kim (Defence)
All-Rookie
2nd Team
Matteo Paradiso (Forward)
UP NEXT: The series winner will move on to compete in the NOJHL’s Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy final against either the Greater Sudbury Cubs or Soo Eagles.
BROADCASTERS
Lumberjacks: Denis J. Puska
Rock: Andrew Autio & Jason Kelly
WHERE TO WATCH: All NOJHL playoff games are streamed live online via its official broadcast partner, at FLOHockey.tv.
PHOTO: Northern Lights Photography
