Hearst Lumberjacks captain Mathieu Comeau, left, and Timmins Rock blue-liner Ben Climenhaga shake hands following the conclusion of Game 4 of their NOJHL semifinal series at the McIntyre Arena, Wednesday night. The Rock defeated the Lumberjacks 5-1 to sweep the best-of-seven series. They will now meet the Greater Sudbury Cubs in the NOJHL finals. Photo by THOMAS PERRY /The Daily Press
Semifinals sweep sets up Timmins Rock to face off against Greater Sudbury Cubs in NOJHL finals
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
“Hurry, hurry hard!”
That’s likely what any curlers in the crowd were shouting as the Timmins Rock completed their sweep of the Hearst Lumberjacks at the McIntyre Arena, Wednesday night.
The 5-1 victory gave the Rock a 4-0 NOJHL semifinal series win and set up a championship series against the Greater Sudbury Cubs, who swept their semifinal series from the Soo Eagles 4-0.
GM3: Timmins Rock push Lumberjacks to brink of elimination
“Our team played great and it was a good game from start to finish,” said Rock coach and general manager Brandon Perry.
“I don’t know what’s going on four-on-four with us. I guess I am never totally happy, am I Thomas?”
Indeed, Perry could be hoisting the Centennial Cup after his club wins a national championship in Summerside, P.E.I., on May 17, he would likely find some little fault in the Rock’s play.
“We have been a mess four-on-four,” he said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but our group did a good job all series long and I am super proud of them. Let’s get ready for what comes next.”
The Rock were without the services of forward Lucas Lowe, one third of the team’s No. 1 line, but affiliate player Ian Lachance stepped into the lineup in his place and made an impact immediately.
Lachance, who played four games with the team during the 2022-23 campaign and two more during the 2023-24 season, spent the bulk of 2025-26 with the GOJHL’s Chatham Maroons (regular-season: 45, 12-38-50, 53; playoffs: 9, 3-4-7, 20).
GM2: Timmins Rock roll over Lumberjacks, take 2-0 series lead
“It’s tough for Lowesy,” Perry said. “It is one of those things where if this was Game 6 or Game 7, he would probably have been playing, but fortunately we had the time to rest him.
“Ian is a kid I have known since he was 13 years old. I know what kind of player he is, what kind of character he has, so it was a no brainer to slip him in there. Obviously, he is a great player. He is incredibly smart. You don’t have to explain much to him. He has been around as an AP. He skates with us in the fall.
“It was super nice to have him in there. He is a great kid who comes from a great family and it is nice to see him back home.”
Lachance, who started on a line with Evan Katic and Thomas Beard, got the Rock on the scoreboard four-and-a-half minutes into the opening period, as he netted his first goal of the playoffs.
“I was on the ice with Kats and Beardo and Kats made a nice play behind the net,” Lachance said.
“I was three-high and just got the puck on my stick, took the shot and it went in.”
Like many Rock forwards in this series, Lachance beat Hearst starting goalie Jack Helkie high on the blocker side, a strategy that proved effective throughout the four games.
“I didn’t even know (that word was shoot high blocker side), I just put the puck where is saw mesh and it went in,” Lachance said.
Kaeden McArthur then added his 10th goal of the post season five minutes later to double the Rock advantage.
And Ryan Armitage chipped in with his fourth goal of the playoffs to put the Rock in front 3-0 heading into the first intermission.
That marker spelled the end of Helkie’s night, with William Stonehouse coming on in relief.
GM1: Timmins Rock overcome slow start to topple Lumberjacks
It didn’t slow the Rock down too much, however, as they added a pair of second-period goals to expand their advantage to 5-0.
McArthur netted the first of those tallies, his second goal of the game and 11th of the playoffs.
Nolan Masson then followed with his fourth goal of the post season.
Up 5-0 heading into the third period, the only item left to be decided appeared to be whether or not Rock goalie Frédéric Cousineau would record a shutout.
But that was not to be, as the Rock sat back on their heels to start the frame and Hugo Allard netted his first goal of the playoffs to get the Lumberjacks on the scoreboard.
That would be as close as they would come to getting back on even terms, however, as the Rock went on to earn their series-clinching 5-1 victory.
The Rock once again capitalized on beating Helkie up high although not all of Wednesday’s goals were scored on the blocker side.
“The two games we played against him in Hearst at the end of the season, two losses, he was fantastic,” Perry said. “He wasn’t at his best in this series and we did some video on him. That (high blocker) was where we wanted to shoot and they were going in.”
The coach liked what he saw from McArthur and Maxx Hamelin, the other two members of his top line, in the contest.
“K-Mac and Hammer have been outstanding for us, they really have,” Perry said. “They are who we count on to score and they take that role seriously. They have been doing a great job.”
There were plenty of other Rock players deserving of a little extra praise, as well.
“(Nolan Masson) is the greatest teammate,” Perry said. “He is obviously a fantastic player and that kid would do anything. If I told him to run up to the top deck grab me some popcorn, he wouldn’t ask questions, he would just do it. He has got sneaky skill to go with all that and he can find the back of the net.
“Ryan Armitage had a lot more goals last year than he has this year, but he fills a lot of different roles for us. He plays a lot of minutes and maybe that’s taken away some of his offence, but he just wants to win. He plays more minutes than any of our other forwards, every single night. He is just incredibly tough, smart and he works hard.
“Matthew Kim is just next level, the way he skates, the way he moves, the way his edges are.
“Our whole D corps did great and Frédéric Cousineau was fantastic tonight. At 5-0 and 5-1, our guys weren’t playing as hard as they probably should have and he made some big saves. He was like, ‘no, don’t even give them a free one.’ He was great.
“They were all good.”
Lachance enjoyed getting a chance to play with offensively gifted players like McArthur and Hamelin.
“They are two great players, two offensive talents,” he said. “I watched some Rock games on FloHockey before I came up, saw their stats and I just wanted to fit in.
“I don’t really know the systems, so I was just trying to gel with them.”
A 6-2, 181-pound, left-shooting Timmins product, Lachance is happy to have a chance to help Timmins win an NOJHL championship.
“It’s crazy to think we are only four wins away,” he said. “I won a championship last year with Chatham and it’s the best feeling in the world.
“So, to come back here to Timmins, in this great atmosphere, getting to play at The Mac, in front of these fans, is a great opportunity. They have a great team in Greater Sudbury, but we are up for the challenge. I have a lot of faith in this group.”
While the shutout eluded him, Cousineau, who stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced, went on to earn his eighth victory of the playoffs.
Helkie, who turned aside 10 of the 13 shot the Rock directed at him during his 12:15 of action, was tagged with the loss.
Stonehouse blocked 22 of the 24 shots he faced in his 47:45 of relief.
NOJHL NOTES — The Daily Press three stars of the game were McArthur (two goals, including game-winner), Masson (one goal, one assist) and Lachance (one goal, one assist) … The Rock went 0-5 on the power play, while the Lumberjacks were 0-1 with the man advantage … Official attendance at the McIntyre Arena was 1,190 … Lumberjacks blue-liner Cole Miller was ejected from Wednesday contest in the first period after he was assessed a two-minute minor for checking from behind and a game misconduct … The NOJHL has not yet announced the dates for the final between the Rock and the Cubs.
