TIMMINS, Ont. – Riley Brousseau notched a pair of markers while Tyler Gilberds chipped in with a goal and pair of assists Friday to help the Timmins Rock pull out a narrow 4-3 triumph over the Hearst Lumberjacks in a hard-fought Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League encounter at McIntyre Arena.
Timmins caught a break early on as a Hearst defender was inadvertently picked out of way which allowed a two-on-one and Tyler Patterson to saucer a cross-ice feed to a hard-charging Brousseau to lift one over a sprawling Matteo Gennaro in the Lumberjacks net.
Up a skater near the 15-minute mark of the first, the Rock went up 2-0 off a nice rush into the zone saw Gilberds fire a shot on the net and have Christopher Englebert right there to bang in the rebound for his sixth of the season.
Getting one back right back, Hearst’s Dylan Ford let one go from the right point that clipped off the blocker of goaltender Gavin McCarthy and flip into the net.
In the second, it was more from Brousseau as he clicked via the man advantage when he finished off a rebound from in close at 5:14.
Moving to the final frame, some nice work along the boards by Patterson helped him feed Gilberds in front where he one-timed a shot that Hearst netminder Matteo Gennaro could only get a piece of with his pad before it entered the net.
Battling back, the Lumberjacks moved to within two half way through the period when recently acquired Ryan Glazer redirected a Liam Doyle attempt from between the hash marks for his first NOJHL goal.
Picking up a two-man advantage in the late going, and with their goaltender out for yet another skater, the visitors made it 4-3 with two and a half minutes to play with some nice movement before Jaden Raad fired one through a maze in front that clipped off the leg of Robbie Rutledge and in to make things interesting.
However, Timmins did regroup from there and held firm to pick up the narrow win.
McCarthy was busy, making 39 saves in collecting the victory while Gennaro was equally pressured, facing 38 shots in defeat.
Game Photos:
Thomas Perry – The Daily Press/Postmedia Network