Kaeden McArthur scored a pair of goals to help lead the Timmins Rock to a 4-2 win over the Soo Thunderbirds on Day 1 of the NOJHL Showcase Tuesday at the Countryside Sports Complex. McArthur now has five goals on the season. FILE PHOTO/THE DAILY PRESS jpg, TD, apsmc
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
SUDBURY — The Timmins Rock finally found a way to get enough pucks past Soo Thunderbirds goalie Noah Metivier to earn a 4-2 victory at the Countryside Sports Complex on Day 1 of the NOJHL Showcase Tuesday.
But Metivier, who handed the Rock their only loss in seven outings Friday night, still found a way to earn first star accolades in Tuesday’s contest.
The Rock dominated the contest, outshooting the Thunderbirds 40-16 in the process.
Still, coach and general manager Brandon Perry was not totally pleased with what he saw from his squad.
“I didn’t like our effort a lot, it wasn’t bad by any means, but I thought we looked a little tired, bus legs, whatever you want to call it, but we got a win,” he said.
Given the Rock outshot the Thunderbirds 17-1 in the first period, the Thunderbirds might want to dispute that assessment.
“We got a couple of power plays in the first period and it was just a weird game,” Perry said.
The coach was happy to see his Rock get three pucks behind Metivier after the struggles they had against him in Timmins.
“No, not today Noah,” Perry said, when asked if he thought the Thunderbirds netminder was as sharp Tuesday as he had been Friday night.
“It was almost like the same game in terms of shots, time of possession, all that stuff. It’s just that our shots went in this afternoon, but he played well again. He played really good. He is a heck of a goalie.”
Travis Poan gave the Rock a 1-0 lead 14:12 into the opening period, on a setup from Jaden Lyons.
Kaeden McArthur then doubled that advantage just over a minute later when he scored the first of his two goals on the afternoon and fourth of the season, a power-play marker, with Ryan Armitage and Lucas Lowe picking up assists on the play. It was the 10th helper of the season for Lowe.
The Thunderbirds rallied to tie things up in the middle frame, with Jonathan Sonedecker netting a shorthanded marker, his fifth goal of the season, and Cooper Labelle adding a power-play tally, his third goal of the campaign.
Alexis Tremblay’s third goal of the season allowed the Rock to regain the lead, 3-2, before the second intermission, however. Henry McLellan and Thomas Beard earned assists on Tremblay’s game-winning effort.
They were able to hang onto that narrow advantage until McArthur added his second goal of the game and fifth of the season into an empty Thunderbirds net, with Metivier on the bench in favour of an extra attacker, with just a minute remaining in the third period. Lowe earned his second assist of the game on the play.
The Rock coach liked what he saw from a number of his players during Tuesday’s victory.
“K-Mac (McArthur) had a really good game,” Perry said. “I just like the way he played against the wall. He was skating well and making plays, creating offence, which is what we expect out of him.
“Alexis scored another big goal for us, got the game winner. He is just a tenacious young player who listens, does his job and plays with a ton of passion and a ton of pace. It was nice to see him get rewarded for it. He has been a great addition.
“Poan got another goal this afternoon. That’s back-to-back games for him, as well. It was nice to see because we have some injuries up front with (Reece) Liu and (Hayden) Rynard out. Those are two pretty big pieces, but Poaner got bumped up in the lineup and produced. It is always good to see when that happens.”
Rynard who was taken off the ice on a stretcher during Sunday afternoon’s victory over the Iroquois Falls Storm was released from Timmins and District Hospital that evening and went for an MRI on Monday.
“We are just waiting to get the results, but we are looking at a minimum of six weeks at this point,” Perry said.
The coach also liked what he saw from a number of players on the Rock’s back end on Wednesday.
“I thought Elijah Pool played a really good game,” Perry said. “He was just solid and steady. Ethan Albert has been playing fantastic hockey and Sam Gallagher has been playing fantastic hockey.
“And Dryds (Dryden Riley) was solid in neat, as well.”
Riley blocked 19 of the 21 shots he faced to earn his NOJHL-leading fourth win of the season.
Metivier, who turned aside 39 of the 42 shots the Rock directed his way, was tagged with the loss.
NOJHL NOTES — The three stars of the game were Metivier, Tremblay and McArthur … The Rock went 2-6 on the power play, but surrendered a shorthanded goal, while the Thunderbirds were 1-4 with the man advantage … Official attendance at the Countryside Sports Complex was 102 … Tuesday’s other action saw the Soo Eagles edge the Iroquois Falls Storm 3-2, the French River Rapids take down the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 5-2, the Powassan Voodoos top the Blinder River Beavers 2-1, the Espanola Paper Kings outscore the Elliot Lake Vikings 6-5 and the Greater Sudbury Cubs defeat the Hearst Lumberjacks 5-4 … The Rock will take on the Beavers at the Countryside Sports Complex on Wednesday, at 3:45 p.m. They will then return home to host the Beavers at the McIntyre Arena on Friday, at 7 p.m.
