Timmins Rock forward Kaeden McArthur jammed the puck past Greater Sudbury Cubs goalie Karsen Chartier from in close to net his 16th goal of the season during the second period of Friday night’s NOJHL contest at the McIntyre Arena. McArthur’s goal tied the contest at 2-2 and the Rock went on to defeat the Cubs 4-3, handing Greater Sudbury just its fourth regulation loss of the season. THOMAS PERRY/THE DAILY PRESS jpg, TD, apsmc
The Timmins Rock handed the NOJHL-leading Greater Sudbury Cubs just their fourth regulation loss of the season, a 4-3 decision at the McIntyre Arena Friday night.
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
It was the first win in three meetings for the Rock against the NOJHL’s version of the Evil Empire this season and early on it looked like local fans might once again go home disappointed.
Daks Klinkhammer’s power-play marker, his 17th goal of the season, with just 1:02 remaining in the opening period gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the contest.
Lucas Antonioni added his fifth goal of the season five-and-a-half minutes into the middle frame to double the Greater Sudbury advantage.
But the Rock were able to cut into that lead just over a minute later, as Clark Scaddan streaked down the wing and beat Cubs goalie Karsen Chartier from a sharp angle for his 11th goal of the season.
Kaeden McArthur then beat Chartier from in close to net his 16th tally of the campaign and tie things up at 2-2.
The Cubs were able to regain the lead before the end of the frame, however, as Ben Harris scored a power-play marker, his eighth goal of the season.
Blue-liner Braedyn Cyr’s power-play marker, his sixth goal of the season, six-and-a-half minutes into the third period deadlocked the score at 3-3.
Thomas Beard then netted yet another power-play marker, his 12th tally of the campaign, shortly after the midway point in the frame.
“It was a faceoff play we ran on the power play,” Beard said, “McArthur and (Jack) Kelly ran it well and McArthur found me open in the slot. I knew I had to bury one. I didn’t bury a few chances before, so it came to me, I got the shot off and it went in the top right corner.”
Beard’s marker would stand up to be the game-winning goal, as Rock goalie Dryden Riley shut the door on the NOJHL leaders the rest of the way.
The Cubs didn’t go away without a fight, however, as the Rock were assessed a two-minute minor penalty for interference from the bench with 2:37 remaining in regulation.
Greater Sudbury pulled Chartier in favour of an extra attacker to create a two-man advantage, but the Rock were able to weather the storm until Samuel Assinewai, of the Cubs, was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for roughing with 11 seconds remaining in regulation.
With the faceoff in the Greater Sudbury end, the Cubs were forced to put Chartier back in the net and with the Rock penalty expired, the visitors were forced to play those final 11 seconds shorthanded.
Beard agreed Friday night’s victory was one of the Rock’s biggest wins of the season and the fact it came against the NOJHL’s top squad, currently No. 2 in the CJHL power rankings, made it all the sweeter.
“It felt really great because lately we had been struggling a bit,” he said. “Getting this win was huge and it got our moral up. We know we can compete against the top teams in this league. Our record doesn’t show it, but we are a top team and it was good to be able to compete with these guys.”
Beard played on a line with Kelly and Hayden Rynard Friday night, a combination that once again proved effective.
“We worked hard out there to ensure the guys on the other team’s line couldn’t do the things they wanted to do out there,” Beard said. “We just tried to grind things out and work as hard as we could, help our team build momentum.”
Early on in the contest, when the Rock fell behind 2-0, they stuck to the game plan and maintained the patience, waiting for their opportunities.
“We had been working hard, but we hadn’t been handling the puck well at the start of the game,” Beard said. “Once we started bearing down, it helped us out in the long run.”
Riley stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced to pick up his 16th win of the season for the Rock.
Chartier, who turned aside 26 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 Beard, McArthur and Assinewai … The Rock went 2-6 on the power play, while the Cubs were 2-5 with the man advantage … Official attendance at the McIntyre Arena was 864 … Friday’s other action saw the Voodoos hold off the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 3-1 in Powassan, the Paper Kings edge the Iroquois Falls Storm 5-4 in Espanola, the Soo Eagles fly past the Rapids 5-2 in French River and the Thunderbirds edge the Blind River Beavers 4-3 in Sault Ste. Marie … The Rock will travel to Hearst to take on the Lumberjacks at the Claude Larose Recreation Centre on Saturday, at 7:30 p.m. The next home game will see the Rock entertain the Espanola Paper Kings at the McIntyre Arena on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m.