Rock set to host Thunderbirds in Game 1 of NOJHL finals

Timmins Rock forward Nolan Ring, shown here battling with Soo Thunderbirds blue-liner Brodie McConnell-Barker during an NOJHL game at the McIntyre Arena on March 19, leads his squad in playoff scoring and ranks fourth among all NOJHL skaters in the post season. Ring and his Rock teammates will welcome the Thunderbirds to the McIntyre Arena for Game 1 on the NOJHL finals on Thursday, at 7 p.m. Game 2 will also be played at the McIntyre Arena on Friday, at 7 p.m. THOMAS PERRY/THE DAILY PRESS jpg, TD

The Rock are four wins away from securing their first NOJHL championship since the franchise relocated back to Timmins prior to the 2015-16 campaign.


Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network


TIMMINS – The Rock are four wins away from securing their first NOJHL championship since the franchise relocated back to Timmins prior to the 2015-16 campaign.

Standing in their way are the defending champion Soo Thunderbirds, the last team standing on the West Division side of the 2023 playoffs.

While the Rock defeated the French River Rapids (4-1) in Round 1 and the Powassan Voodoos (4-0) in the East Division final, the Thunderbirds took out the Blind River Beavers (4-1) and the Greater Sudbury Cubs (4-1).

During the regular season, the Rock (45-8-3-2) had the best record in both the East Division and NOJHL overall standings, while the Thunderbirds (36-15-3-3) were third in the West Division and fifth overall.

The first meeting of the regular season saw the Thunderbirds edge the Rock 3-2 in overtime during the NOJHL Showcase on Oct. 4, with blue-liner Brodie McConnell-Barker netting the game-winning goal.

Landon Miller stopped 37 of the 39 shots the Rock directed his way to earn the win for the Thunderbirds, while Rock goalie Patrick Boivin, who turned aside 22 of the 25 shots he faced was tagged with the loss.

Then, in Sault Ste. Marie on Oct. 14, the Thunderbirds double up the Rock 4-2, with Jackson Truchan netting a pair of tallies.

Kolton Bourret stopped 30 of the 32 shots the Rock fired in his direction to earn the win, while Jacob Brown, who turned aside 23 of the 26 shots he faced, was tagged with the loss for the Rock.

Finally, on March 19, the Rock closed out their 2022-23 regular-season schedule with a 4-2 win over the Thunderbirds at the McIntyre Arena, as Lucas Piekarczyk scored once and set up two other goals.

Boivin turned aside 12 of the 14 shots he faced to pick up the win for the Rock, while Miller (29 saves on 33 shots) was tagged with the loss for the Thunderbirds.

Not surprisingly, both the Rock (8-0-1) and the Thunderbirds (8-1-1) are red hot heading into the best-of-seven NOJHL championship series.

The Thunderbirds (46) have scored one more goal than the Rock (45), but they have also played one more game than their opponents.

To this point, the Thunderbirds have four players — Dharan Cap (10, 8-7-15, 12), Truchan (7, 6-9-15, 12), Justin Mauro (10, 3-11-14, 4) and blue-liner Kaden Dundas (10, 4-6-10, 4) — who have hit or exceeded the 10-point plateau.

In addition, three other players — Youssef Chaouachi (10, 4-5-9, 8), Daniel Beaupre (10, 3-6-9, 4) and Wyatt Marlow (9, 5-3-8, 0) — are within striking distance of that mark.

Meanwhile, the Rock also have four players — Nolan Ring (9, 4-9-13, 6), Captain Nicolas Pigeon (8, 3-10-13, 6), Brady Harroun (9, 7-5-12, 6) and blue-liner Felix Cadieux-Fredette (9, 2-8-10, 12) — with at least 10 points.

And, like the Thunderbirds, the Rock have three players — Justin Charette (9, 1-8-9, 0), Lucas Lowe (9, 5-2-7, 2), Nicholas Frederick (9, 4-3-7, 8) — within striking distance of that milestone.

In addition, they have two others — Piekarczyk (5, 2-5-7, 2) and Ethan Pool (4, 4-0-4, 0) — who are averaging a point per game, while Harry Clark (3, 2-0-2, 4) is not far off that pace.

Defensively, the Rock (18) have allowed 10 fewer goals than the Thunderbirds (28), in one fewer game.

Entering the playoffs the Rock appeared to have a 1A (Boivin) and 1B (Brown) option in net, but both goalies have excelled, leaving the team with a pair of 1A options.

Brown (240:00, 4-0-0, 1, 1.75, .930) leads all NOJHL netminders in goals against average, while Boivin (302:00, 4-0-1, 1, 2.19, .914) is second.

Brown also has the NOJHL’s top save percentage, while Boivin is third, behind the Espanola Paper Kings’ Jake Marois.

Brown and Boivin each have one shutout, the only ones posted so far in the 2023 NOJHL playoffs.

Meanwhile, Miller 602:00, 8-1-1, 0, 2.79, .897), who has played all but 48 seconds of the Thunderbirds’ playoff contests, leads the NOJHL in wins during the post season.

Bourret (0:48, 0-0-0, 0, 0.00, 1.000) saw action in the Thunderbirds 5-4 Round 1 win over the Beavers on March 25.

While goaltenders traditionally get the lion’s share of the credit for their team’s defensive record it is important to note the players toiling in front of them play an important role in their success, as well.

The Rock have a solid blue-line in front of Brown and Boivin, led by Kenyon Nyman (9, 1-5-6, 2), Cadieux-Fredette, Brandon Rossetti (8, 1-3-4, 6),Christophe Petit (9, 1-5-6, 4), Kyle Trottier (9, 0-4-4, 0),Chase Longhurst (9, 0-2-2, 4) and Tenzin Nyman (5, 0-0-0, 0).

And waiting in the wings is affiliate player Ayden Trottier (1, 0-0-0, 0), younger brother of Kyle Trottier.

Kyle Trottier, a shot-blocking machine, is a former member of the Thunderbirds, acquired on Sept. 19 in exchange for a player development fee.

The Thunderbirds ice an impressive D corps, as well, featuring Dundas, Brodie McConnell-Barker (10, 0-6-6, 8), Austin Fellinger (10, 1-4-5, 0), Tyler Boudreau (9, 1-3-4, 4), Ranon Joseph (10, 1-3-4, 10), Kolby Fellinger (3, 1-0-1, 0) and Declan Gallivan (3, 1-0-1, 0).

During the playoffs, the Rock (94) have taken 12 fewer minutes in penalties than the Thunderbirds (106), but that could due — in part at least — to the fact they have played one fewer game.

There has been, to this point at least, little to separate the power play of the two teams, with the Thunderbirds (second to the Hearst Lumberjacks) operating at a 26.7 per cent (12 for 45) efficiency rate compared to the Rock’s 26.0 per cent (12 for 50), third overall.

On the penalty kill, the difference is slightly larger, with the Thunderbirds killing off 89.5 per cent (four goals allowed in 38 kills), best in the playoffs, while the Rock have the third-best statistics, at 86.7 per cent (four goals allowed in 30 kills), third-best.

The Rock have sniped three shorthanded goals, tops in the NOJHL, while the Thunderbirds have one.

On the other side of the puck, the Rock have allowed two shorthanded goals, while the Thunderbirds have surrendered one.