Rock blue-liner Elijah Pool and Hearst Lumberjacks forward DonHeaven Veilleux battle for a loose puck in the Timmins end during Friday night’s NOJHL contest at the Claude Larose Recreation Centre. The Lumberjacks hung on to defeat the Rock 3-2, handing their East Division opponents their second-straight regulation loss. NORTHERN LIGHTS PHOTOGRAPHY/FOR NOJHL NETWORK jpg, TD, apsmc
Photos: Northern Lights Photography
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
HEARST — A night after their 11-game point streak was snapped in French River the Timmins Rock dropped their second-straight regulation decision, falling 3-2 to the Lumberjacks at the Claude Larose Recreation Centre Friday night.
Still, with just those two regulation losses in the past 13 games, Rock coach and general manager Brandon Perry isn’t about the panic.
“We just weren’t good enough, we just didn’t deserve it tonight,” he said, following the contest.
“Our power play has obviously been struggling the last two games. We definitely had chances to tie this thing up, or even put it away but we had a lot of tired guys out there.”
The Rock had 640 kilometres of travel under their belt before the puck dropped for Friday night’s contest, but Perry wasn’t about to use bus legs as an excuse for the loss.
“We just weren’t ready and our top guys were a little lazy tonight,” he said.
“They were a little tired, mentally and physically. They weren’t making the right reads and were forcing some things on the power play. It just wasn’t clean.”
The Rock went just 1-6 on the power play Friday night, after being 0-8 with the man advantage against the Rapids in French River the night before.
Despite those struggles, however, the Rock still have the No. 1-ranked power play in the NOJHL, operating with an efficiency rating of 32.0 per cent.
Following a scoreless opening 20 minutes, it was the Rock who got on the scoreboard first Friday night.
Ryan Armitage scored his fourth goal of the season 6:10 into the middle frame.
The Lumberjacks battled back to tie the game up and then take the lead with a pair of goals less than two minutes apart.
Liam Boswell’s eighth goal of the season, a power-play marker, got the home side back on even terms and Maddoc Newton then put them in front with his sixth goal of the campaign.
Former Rock forward Tyler Patterson set up both of those Lumberjacks markers.
Patterson then netted what would prove to be the game-winning goal, his 15 tally of the season, at the 1:42 mark of the third period.
The Rock were able to get that one back just over a minute later when blue-liner Felix Cadieux-Fredette scored a power-play marker. It was the first goal of the season for the Rock captain.
In the game’s final minutes, the Rock pulled goalie Patrick Boivin in favour of an extra attacker, but the tying goal eluded them.
The Rock have a week to regroup before they are schedule to host the Iroquois Falls Storm at the McIntyre Arena Friday night.
“Our power play is going to be fine,” Perry said.
“It had two bad games in a row but we are still first in the league, operating at over 30 per cent. It’s lethal. We just hit a little bump in the road.”
There weren’t a lot of Rock players who impressed their coach during Friday night’s contest.
“I thought Patty (Boivin) was solid between the pipes,” Perry said.
“There wasn’t anybody else in particular who stood out. We were just okay.
“We were played a .500 hockey team that has been struggling and was starving for a win and their urgency was just higher than ours.”
The Claude Larose Recreation Centre can be a tough building for visiting teams to earn points, but the Rock have had success there earlier in the season.
“That team always shows up to play against us and we have got to start getting up to play against them,” Perry said.
Following the trade that sent Ukrainian forwards Pavlo Kobikov and Denys Pasko to the KJHL’s PBCN Selects in exchange for player development fees the Rock have some space on their roster.
“We need to bring in another D (defenceman),” Perry said.
Will that D be an offensively skilled blue-liner or a big, physical defender who can clear the front of the net?
“We are just looking for a guy who can play,” Perry said.
The need is more urgent, of course, because the Rock are currently missing two of their Top 4 defenders — Kyle Trottier and Chase Longhurst-McIntyre, both of whom remain out of the lineup with upper-body injuries.
Tristan Boileau, who turned aside 31 of the 33 shots the Rock directed his way, earned his fifth win of the season for the Lumberjacks.
Boivin, who stopped 35 of the 38 shots he faced, was tagged with the loss.
NOJHL NOTES — The three stars of the game were Boileau, Lumberjacks forward Cooper Moore and Patterson … The Rock went 1-6 on the power play, while the Lumberjacks were 1-4 with the man advantage … Official attendance at the Claude Larose Recreation Centre was 646 … Friday’s other action saw the Voodoos thump the French River Rapids 9-6 in Powassan, the Iroquois Falls Storm edge the Vikings 2-1 in a shootout in Elliot Lake and the Eagles down the Soo Thunderbirds 5-2 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. … The Rock will return to action when they host the Iroquois Falls Storm at the McIntyre Arena on Friday, at 7:3 p.m.
“Highlight of the Night” – NOJHL YouTube Channel
