Timmins Rock goalie Patrick Boivin managed to get his blocker in front of this shot off the stick of Powassan Voodoos forward Caden Dubreuil as blue-liner Tenzin Nyman slid across to offer assistance on the play during the first period of Friday night’s NOJHL game at the McIntyre Arena. Boivin made 44 saves in the contest as the Rock went on to defeat the East Division-leading Voodoos 4-1 and earn their fifth-straight victory. THOMAS PERRY/THE DAILY PRESS
Patrick Boivin’s 44-save effort backstopped the Timmins Rock to a 4-1 win over the Powassan Voodoos at the McIntyre Arena Friday night.
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
It was the fifth-straight win for the Rock who will travel to Kirkland Lake to take on the Gold Miners on Sunday, at 2 p.m.
A strong opening period saw the Rock take a 2-0 lead in the contest, while outshooting the Voodoos 16-13.
Kaeden McArthur’s ninth goal of the season put the Rock in front four seconds past the midway point in the frame.
It marked the third-straight game in which McArthur has found the back of the net and the fourth time in the past five contests.
Harry Clark added the first of his two goals on the night and fourth of the season with just under two minutes to play in the period.
“I came around the net, passed it up top to (Elijah) Pool and he dished it to Freddie (Felix Cadieux-Fredette) and I just kind of found an open area, and Freddie made a beautiful pass over to me and the boys were in front (of the net) screening (the goalie),” Clark said, describing how the play developed.
“It was a pretty easy shot when the boys are were doing that.”
That tally would stand up to be the game-winning goal.
The Rock added to their advantage in the middle frame, with Clark netting a power-play marker, his second goal of the night and fifth of the season.
“Once again, Freddie made a nice dish over to me and the guys were screening in front, which made my job easy,” Clark said.
“The shot went in top right corner.”
Trailing by three goals, the Voodoos pulled goalie Daniel Dirracolo to create a six-on-four advantage when Clark was sent off for cross-checking at the 13:34 mark of the third period.
The Rock managed to kill off the penalty, however, and Dirracolo returned to the Voodoos net after the infraction had expired.
Still trailing late in the frame, the Voodoos once again pulled Dirracolo to create a six-on-four advantage when Cadieux-Fredette was sent off for tripping with 2:13 remaining in regulation.
The move backfired, though, as Jack Anderson deposited a shorthanded goal into the empty Voodoos net for his third tally of the season.
Once again, the Rock killed off the penalty but the Voodoos finally got on the scoreboard when Darby McCarthy scored his sixth goal of the season, three seconds after Cadieux-Fredette’s penalty had expired, to spoil Boivin’s shutout bid.
That would be as close as the Voodoos would come to getting back on even terms, leaving the final score 4-1 in favour of the Rock.
Clark realizes just how big Friday night’s victory was for the Rock since they not only extended their winning streak to five games but also knocked off the top team in their division.
“Coming off the season we had last year (NOJHL championship), it’s nice to beat some of these big division rivals,” he said.
“(Going forward) it is going to be important to not look at who we are playing, just focus on one game at a time, give it our all and make sure we don’t pick up any bad habits.”
Clark’s five goals on the season have him tied for third in that category among Rock skaters, but he leads the team in assists (21) and points (26).
In fact, his 21 helpers have him tied for top spot in the NOJHL in that category and his point total has him sitting in fifth place in the league’s scoring race.
“The only important statistic is our wins and keeping our streak alive,” he said.
“Whatever I can do to help out, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Clark agreed the only disappointing aspect to Friday night’s victory was that they weren’t able to get the shutout for Boivin.
“He kept us in the game at some points,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we let him down there at the end, but he played stellar tonight.”
Boivin stopped 44 of the 45 shots he faced to earn his fifth win of the season.
Dirracolo, who turned aside 27 of the 30 shots the Rock directed his way, was tagged with the loss.
NOJHL NOTES — The Daily Press three stars of the game were Boivin, Clark and Cadieux-Fredette (two assists) … The Rock went 1-3 on the power play, while the Voodoos were 0-5 with the man advantage … Official attendance at the McIntyre Arena was 1,011 … Friday’s other action saw the Espanola Paper Kings knock off the Storm 5-1 in Iroquois Falls, the Vikings edge the Greater Sudbury Cubs 3-2 in Elliot Lake and the Eagles top the French River Rapids 3-1 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., … The Rock will travel to Kirkland Lake for a game against the Gold Miners at the Joe Mavrinac Community Complex on Sunday, at 2 p.m. The next home game will be on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 3 p.m. when they will host the Cubs at the McIntyre Arena.
“Highlight of the Night” – NOJHL YouTube Channel
