The Timmins Rock pushed the Voodoos to the brink of elimination following a 5-2 win at the Sportsplex in Game 3 of their NOJHL East Division final Sunday night.
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
POWASSAN — The Timmins Rock pushed the Voodoos to the brink of elimination following a 5-2 win at the Sportsplex in Game 3 of their NOJHL East Division final Sunday night.
Now leading the best-of-seven series 3-0, the Rock will look to close things out at the Sportsplex Tuesday night.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the opening 20 minutes of action Sunday night, even though the Rock outshot the Voodoos 17-9.
And it was the Voodoos who got on the scoreboard first, 1:58 into the middle frame, courtesy of a Mitch Wilkie power-play marker, his second goal of the playoffs.
The lead didn’t last long, however, as the Rock tied things up just over two minutes later.
Lucas Piekarczyk scored his second goal of the playoffs to make it a 1-1 hockey game.
Then, just 33 seconds after that tally, Harry Clark scored his first goal of the playoffs to give the Rock a lead they would not surrender the rest of the way.
And the Rock added two more goals, this time 22 seconds apart, early in the third period to take command of the contest.
Nolan Ring got the first of those tallies, his third goal of the playoffs, at the 5:15 mark.
Ethan Pool then added an unassisted marker, his third goal of the playoffs and series.
Lucas Lowe’s power-play marker, his fourth goal of the playoffs, then increased the Rock lead to 5-1 before the midway mark in the period.
Ryan Patrick’s second tally of the playoffs closed out the scoring with 1:26 remaining in the contest, but that left the Voodoos three goals short of being able to force overtime.
Rock coach and general manager Brandon Perry was happy to see his squad emerge with the victory.
“We played well but it was a different game, obviously, more physical, an absolute war out there,” he said.
“We just stuck with it and capitalized on our chances and got out of there with the win.
“It was a really big test for our group and it was a great win.”
Given the Voodoos trailed the series 2-0 heading into Sunday night’s contest in Powassan, it isn’t surprising they were playing with a greater sense of urgency.
“They came out really hard and amped up their physicality,” Perry said.
“They were really bumping and hitting guys and that kind of caught us off guard at the start, but we got our bearings about us and got after them.
“Even with the physicality, we still carried the play. It is hard to get physical back when you have the puck all period.
“Our guys did a good job, got 17 shots in the first period and just kept the pressure on them like we did the first two games, made some adjustments on our systems during the intermission, cleaned some things up and by the third period the pucks started to go in, which was nice, but they certainly came out hard.”
The coach noted there was no sense of panic when the Rock fell behind in a hostile building in the second period.
“We had been outplaying them, carrying the play and then we took a penalty and they scored one on the power play,” Perry said.
“It was tough, but we had been playing so well there was no panic, we knew it was just going to be a matter of time before we got one and the pucks started going in.
“That was kind of the mindset.”
The coach agreed the speed with which his squad scored back-to-back goals in both the second and third periods didn’t give the Voodoos an opportunity to take back the momentum.
“I think it was discouraging, a little bit, because they had been playing so hard,” Perry said.
“We would pop one and then it was like, oh man, we would pop another one, but they kept battling and battling and battling.”
Up and down the roster, the coach was pleased with the effort he saw from everyone wearing a Rock uniform Sunday night.
“It would be hard to pick just one tonight, but I would probably go with (Rock goalie Patrick) Patty Boivin, he was solid between the pipes,” Perry said.
“He battled through the traffic and it is a hard rink to play in, pucks bounce off the wall fast and they bounce off the façade, but he was really dialed in and sharp.”
The Rock got goals from five different players Sunday night, with a number of them coming from individuals who are mainly relied upon to supply secondary offence.
“It is super nice to have the depth we have,” Perry said.
“Everybody has been stepping up at different times, which is a sign of a very good team.
“It is just fun to be a part of right now.”
The coach is fully aware the level of desperation from the Voodoos will likely be even higher in Game 4 Tuesday night than it was in Sunday night’s contest.
“The fourth one (win) is always the hardest to get, that’s why it is the first team to four not to three,” Perry said.
“When a team’s back is against the wall, they have no choice but to come out and play as hard as they can.
“They are really a well-coached team and we expect nothing less.”
Boivin stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced to earn his third win of the playoffs.
Kannon Flageolle, who turned aside 37 of the 42 shots the Rock directed his way, was tagged with the loss for the Voodoos.
NOJHL NOTES — The three stars of the game were Clark, Piekarczyk and Wilkie … The Rock went 1-3 on the power play, while the Voodoos were 1-2 with the man advantage … Official attendance at the Powassan Sportsplex was 307 … Game 4 in the series will be played at the Powassan Sportsplex on Tuesday, at 7 p.m.
“Highlight of the Night” – NOJHL YouTube Channel
