Timmins Rock goalie Patrick Boivin makes one of his 21 saves as teammate Tenzin Nyman prepares to clear away the rebound during Tuesday night’s NOJHL contest at the McIntyre Arena. Boivin earned his second-straight shutout and fifth win of the season as the Rock blanked the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 3-0. THOMAS PERRY/THE DAILY PRESS
Patrick Boivin posted his second-consecutive shutout as the Timmins Rock blanked the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 3-0 at the McIntyre Arena Tuesday night.
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
The netminder was quick, however, to share credit for the victory with his teammates.
“It feels good, not letting in any goals, but the team played good in front of me,” Boivin said.
“I have probably got what, 40 shots in the last two games, so I can’t complain.”
While he wasn’t super busy for most of the game, Boivin had to be sharp late in the contest when the Gold Miners were finally able to generate some pressure.
“Our guys stayed in front and they boxed out everybody,” he said.
“I just made the saves I had to make.”
Prior to the past two games, the Rock had been struggling to find their game, but Boivin feels the 7-0 victory over the Cochrane Crunch Friday night and Tuesday’s 3-0 win over the Gold Miners are signs the team is starting to turn the corner.
“I think it is just a matter of consistency,” he said.
“Moving forward, we just have to keep skating, keep forechecking and keep playing well defensively.”
Tuesday’s victory moved the Rock (7-3-1-1) into a first-place tie with the Hearst Lumberjacks (8-3-0-0) in the NOJHL’s East Division standings although their rivals have a game in hand.
Meanwhile, the Gold Miners (1-10-1-0) remain in the East Division cellar.
While the Gold Miners didn’t pick up the two points they had been seeking Tuesday night, they did a solid job of containing the Rock’s big line of captain Nicolas Pigeon, Brady Harroun and Lucas Piekarczyk — holding them to one assist in the contest.
Blue-liner Kyle Trottier’s first goal of the season, 13:14 into the contest, provided Boivin with all of the offensive support he would require.
Liam Wells’ third goal of the season, at the 2:06 mark of the middle frame, increased the Rock advantage to 2-0.
Nolan Ring then added his fifth goal of the season just over three minutes later to close out the scoring.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the third period, a fact Gold Miners assistant coach Rick Witty viewed as a minor victory for the visiting squad.
“We were a little flat in the first two periods, but we had a strong third period and tried to build on that,” Witty said.
“Timmins is a strong club in our division and to come out with a 3-0 loss, I think our third period was a morale victory.
“Moving forward, we will take into consideration for our next contest.”
The assistant coach felt a number of his Gold Miners played well in the game.
“I liked the play of our goaltender, John Lloyd,” Witty said.
“He kept us in the game early on, during the first two periods.
“Sam De Mauro has been a machine for us back on defence and up front Alex McDonald is just a terrific playmaker.
“Chad Van Weelie had a solid game defensively, as well.”
Rock coach and general manager Brandon Perry felt Tuesday’s victory was another step in the right direction for his club.
“I really liked our game tonight,” he said.
“It was just consistent work for 60 minutes.”
Clearly the Rock were much more efficient exiting their own zone Tuesday night, something they had been struggling with during their slump.
“It is something we have been focusing on a lot during our video sessions, stuff we need to clean up,” Perry said.
“The last couple of games have been about what we need to do here, showing options where we have better reads.”
The coach agreed Boivin was sharp when he need to be during the contest.
“Patty has been great and we are super happy for him to get back-to-back shutouts,” Perry said.
“He did the same thing against Cochrane the other night, early in the first there was a misplay in our zone, slipped back door and he got out there and made a big save.
“That is what he is here for, to play big in big moments. Whether he is busy or not busy, he seems to stay focused and get the job done.
“We are super happy with his play.”
The Rock got solid contributions from their blue-line Tuesday night in all three zones.
“They were solid back there,” Perry said.
“Trotts (Trottier) just gets better and better the more comfortable he gets here.
“He is a heck of a player and obviously Kenny (Kenyon Nyman) and Freddie (Felix Cadieux-Fredette) are guys we expect to be good every single night.
“Tenzin (Nyman) is a young kid who is coming along. I really liked his game tonight.
“Longer (Chase Longhurst) is a vet, but still only has one year of Junior ‘A’ under his belt, and I thought he took another step tonight.”
One blue-liner who normally does not get a lot of attention, because he just quietly goes about his job, is Christophe Petit.
“He is a big, mature kid,” Perry said.
“You can tell he is 20 years old because he doesn’t panic under pressure.
“He is coming along great. His gaps in the neutral zone were fantastic and I was super happy with his play, as well.”
With the Rock’s top line being held in check, the coach was happy to see offence generated from other sources Tuesday night.
“That was really nice,” Perry said.
“We haven’t had that too much in past games.”
In addition to recording his second shutout of the season, Boivin’s 21-save performance earned him his fifth victory of the campaign.
John Lloyd, who stopped 26 of the 29 shots the Rock directed his way, was tagged with the loss.
NOJHL NOTES — The Daily Press three stars of the game were Boivin, Trottier and Kenyon Nyman (two assists) … Both the Rock and the Gold Miners went 0-3 on the power play … Affiliate player Ian Lachance (GNU18L’s Timmins Majors) made his Rock debut Tuesday night … The Rock have traded forward Yenry Jibb (6, 2-0-2, 2) to the Cochrane Crunch in exchange for a player development fee … Official attendance at the McIntyre Arena was 533 … Tuesday’s only other contest saw the Soo Thunderbirds fly past the Beavers 4-1 in Blind River … The Rock will return to action Friday when they take on the Thunderbirds in Sault Ste. Marie in the first game of a three-game road trip. The next home game will be on Friday, Oct. 21, when they host the French River Rapids at the McIntyre Arena, at 7:30 p.m.
