Timmins Rock forwards Kaeden McArthur, left, and Travis Poan watch as Tenzin Nyman’s point shot eludes Storm goalie Maverick Fletcher and finds the back of the Iroquois Falls net during the first period of Friday night’s NOJHL game at the Jus Jordan Arena. Nyman’s goal gave the Rock a 1-0 lead in a contest they would go on to win 4-3. THOMAS PERRY/THE DAILY PRESS jpg, TD, apsmc
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
IROQUOIS FALLS — Captain Tenzin Nyman scored a goal and set up two others to help lead the Timmins Rock to a 4-3 win over the Storm at the Jus Jordan Arena Friday night.
It was the third-straight victory for the Rock who will continue their weekend road trip with a game against the Paper Kings in Espanola Saturday night and a contest against the Vikings in Elliot Lake Sunday afternoon.
The Rock built up a 3-0 lead in the contest, only to see Iroquois Falls storm back and tie things up early in the third period.
It appeared overtime might be in the offing until Henry McLellan took a pass from Nyman to break in and stuff a shot under Storm goalie Maverick Fletcher for his sixth goal of the season with less than two minutes remaining in regulation.
The Storm pulled Fletcher in favour of an extra attacker in an effort to net an equalizer, but the Rock held firm and skated off with the victory.
Nyman’s first goal of the season late in the opening period had allowed the Rock to take a 1-0 lead in the contest.
Lucas Lowe then converted a Nyman setup for his fourth goal of the season five minutes into the middle frame to double the visitors’ advantage.
Ryan Boon added his fifth goal of the season shortly after the midway point in the period to make it a 3-0 hockey game.
The Storm got on the scoreboard less than a minute later, however, as Remi Gendron scored his fourth goal of the season.
Blue-liner Isaiah Felix then added his first marker of the season to pull the Storm to within a goal heading into the second intermission.
Ben Sherwin’s unassisted marker, his fifth goal of the campaign, then tied the contest at 3-3 a minute and a half into the third period.
Neither team could break the deadlock until McLellan’s game-winning tally with just 1:53 remaining on the clock.
Nyman’s three-point game was his biggest offensive outburst of the season, while his goal was the fifth of his NOJHL career.
“The boys were off to a little bit of a tough start, so I had to figure something out, so I took a shot and it went in under his arm and we kept going from there,” he said, describing his first-period tally.
“I had a bit of puck luck and got a pass from Gally (fellow blue-liner Sam Gallagher) on the blue-line, walked in, shot it and it happened to go in. Some nights you get your bounces and other nights you don’t get your bounces.”
Even when the Rock were up 3-0 in the contest, Nyman knew the Storm were not going to go quietly into the night.
“They have a hard-working team and we definitely took a step back after the second (goal), but we found our game again,” he said.
“We just have to go out and play a full 60 minutes the next time and we will have a better outcome.”
Graham Gee stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced to earn his fifth win of the season for the Rock.
Fletcher, who turned aside 36 of the 40 shots the Rock directed his way, was tagged with the loss.
NOJHL NOTES — The three stars of the game were Nyman, Felix and McLellan … The Rock went 0-6 on the power play, while the Storm were 0-2 with the man advantage … The Rock have traded blue-liner Thomas Sefton to the GOJHL’s Pelham Panthers in exchange for a player development fee … Official attendance at the Jus Jordan Arena was 605 … Friday’s other action saw the Hearst Lumberjacks edge the Voodoos 4-3 in overtime in Powassan, the Soo Eagles thump the Gold Miners 11-3 in Kirkland Lake and the Vikings top the Espanola Paper Kings 7-3 in Elliot Lake … The Rock will take on the Paper Kings in Espanola on Saturday, at 7 p.m., and the Vikings in Elliot Lake on Sunday, at 2 p.m. The next home game will see the Rock host the Hearst Lumberjacks at the McIntyre Arena on Friday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m.
