Photos: Northern Lights Photography
HEARST, Ont. – Riding a three-tally effort from Kaeden McArthur, the Timmins Rock went on to defeat the Hearst Lumberjacks 5-2 Saturday night in the second game of their Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League semifinal at Claude Larose Recreation Centre.
This sees the Rock take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven affair heading into Game 3 Monday at McIntyre Arena in Timmins at 7 p.m., and on FLOHockey.tv.
The visitors needed just 64 seconds to gain an early edge as McArthur took a cross-ice pass from Maxx Hamelin, then after moving his way around a Lumberjacks’ defenceman on the left side, roofed a short-side shot over the shoulder of netminder Jack Helkie.
That gives the forward duo points in five straight outings each.
Continuing to push the pace, Timmins tacked on another six minutes later as they picked off a clearing attempt in the neutral zone and quickly converted off it as Matteo Paradiso took a Maxfeld Shin dish between the circles and whipped it over the blocker of Helkie.
Hearst got one back when Quinn Gavin-White snagged a loose puck at centre ice, then worked his way into Rock territory where he used a defender as a screen and fired a shot past the glove of goaltender Frédéric Cousineau at 15:19.
Restoring their two-goal lead early in the middle stanza, McArthur potted his second of the evening as he was set-up by Hamelin and converted from the right circle.
Hitting his hat trick later in the session, Timmins’ defenceman Brady Bouchard heaved a head-man pass up ice that sent McArthur in alone where he calmly sent a shot into the left corner.
Pulling to within a pair before the intermission, the Lumberjacks’ Cameron Menard put a backhand pass on the stick of Mavrik Chan-Miguel, who rang a shot off the crossbar that bounced down and over the goal line at 18:30.
In the third period, the guests went back up by three when Thomas Beard knocked in a backhand out of mid-air at the top of the crease.
That proved to be the evening’s final marker as the Rock now head home with a two-game cushion.
NOJHL semifinal
No. 3 Hearst Lumberjacks vs. No. 4 Timmins Rock
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Rock 7, Lumberjacks 4
Game 2: Rock 5 Lumberjacks 2
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
Timmins leads best-of-seven series 2-0
