Rock goalie Ayden Mullen makes a save on a shot off the stick of Kirkland Lake Gold Miners forward Kaden Wicklander that eluded Timmins blue-liner Thomas Jaakkola during the second period of Friday night’s NOJHL contest at the McIntyre Arena. Mullen stopped all 37 shots he faced to earn his first shutout of the season as the Rock blanked the Gold Miners 7-0. (THOMAS PERRY / The Daily Press)
Captain Maxx Hamelin’s five-point night and Ayden Mullen’s 37-save shutout produce fourth-straight win
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
On the eve of Halloween, the Timmins Rock served up a treat for their fans while playing a trick on the visiting Kirkland Lake Gold Miners.
The end result was a 7-0 win over the NOJHL-leading Gold Miners at the McIntyre Arena, Friday night, thanks to captain Maxx Hamelin’s five-point night and Ayden Mullen’s 37-save shutout.
It was a solid effort in all three zones for the Rock, who jumped out to a 2-0 lead while outshooting the Gold Miners 14-7 in the opening period.
Rock Oosterveld’s third goal of the season, 5:34 into the contest, got the Rock off and running.
“Hammer (Hamelin) had the puck down low and he told me to get in a spot and he would find me and that’s exactly what happened,” Oosterveld said. “It was perfect. He put the puck right on my tape and I just tried to get my shot on net and good things happened.”
Coach and general manager Sheldon Reasbeck promoted Oosterveld to the Rock’s top line, with Hamelin and Matteo Paradiso and the North Vancouver, B.C., product made the most of it.
“Honestly, I found it way easier,” Oosterveld said. “They are faster, smarter and they make players quicker, so all I had to do was do my job and good things would happen.
“This was a great character win for us. We played Rock hockey and that’s what we have got to keep on doing.”
While many Rock fans have been wondering if Oosterveld’s parents had a crystal ball back when he was born that showed the name of the Junior ‘A’ team he would one day play for, resulting in his first name, that is not the case.
“Honestly, I think it was just a coincidence, but I love the name, it’s great,” he said. “As soon as I got the call (from the Rock), I knew it was just meant to be.”
Reasbeck liked what he saw from Oosterveld on the Rock’s top line.
“He had been playing well with (Simon) Toupin and (Sutton) Scheck and he works his tail off every single practice, every single game, so he deserved the opportunity,” he said.
“He was in the right spots, doing the right things, recovering pucks and he has the offensive tools. He is a super effective player and it was good to see him have success.”
Ashton Beriana added a power-play marker, his seventh goal of the campaign just over two minutes later to make it a 2-0 hockey game.
The Gold Miners had a better showing in the middle frame, outshooting the Rock 16-12, but they found themselves trailing 4-0 heading into the second intermission.
Goals by Edan Etheridge, his 12th of the season, and Hamelin, his first of three on the night and 10th of the campaign, allowed the Rock to double their advantage.
Hamelin, who earned assists on the Rock’s first two goals, had gone four games without finding the back of the net, but he broke out in a big way Friday night.
He charged down the slot, with a number of Gold Miners defenders trying to knock him off the puck and then drilled a shot past Kirkland Lake goalie Asher Ammann.
The third period saw the Rock score three more goals to complete their route of the Gold Miners who had been riding a five-game winning streak.
Hamelin’s 11th and 12th goals of the season, completing his hat-trick, sandwiched blue-liner Thomas Jaakkola’s second marker of the campaign.
Certainly, Reasbeck liked what he saw from his squad Friday night.
“Execution, in terms of being in the right spots,” he said, when asked what stood out for him. “We executed the game plan we wanted to execute versus K.L., shutting down the way they create offence, which is basically second opportunities on pucks. The boys bought into the plan for tonight.
“We had a little lull at the end of the first period, when we started throwing pucks everywhere, but we got our heads out of our butts and started to execute again.”
From start to finish, the Rock were first on pucks and won the majority of battles for loose pucks.
“We made a modification to our fore-check and it really worked out well for us,” Reasbeck said.
“Our boys bought into that and our details around the puck, we had good sticks on pucks, took good lanes to the puck and shut them down. The message was ‘you turn over pucks in the O Zone and then you get O Zone time.’ You don’t have to defend in your own zone. The best place for the puck is at the other end of the ice.”
Reasbeck was happy to see Hamelin rewarded with five points in Friday night’s conest.
“Maxx just needed that first one (goal),” he said. “He is so stellar when he plays his game. The last few games, he has been trying a little too hard to score. Once he got that first one, he was able to play loose hockey. His feet were moving 100 miles per hour, his mind was calm and that’s when he is at his best.”
Mullen, who now has three career NOJHL shutouts, had a strong game Friday night.
“He made some stellar saves and he was tracking the puck really well,” Reasbeck said. “Their second opportunities and the way they create offence, he was able to neutralize it, for the whole game. He was very dialed in today. He was calm, confident and composed.”
Mullen was especially sharp when they Rock were forced to kill off a pair of Kirkland Lake five-on-three power-play opportunities.
Scheck and Gold Miners forward Ben Lyons were ejected from the game in the second period after their tussle resulted in each of them being assessed five-minute majors for fighting and game misconducts. Scheck also received a two-minute minor for instigating, while Lyons got an extra two-minute minor for slashing.
Mullen’s 37-save performance earned him his eighth win and first shutout of the season.
Ammann, who turned aside 36 of the 43 shots the Rock directed his way, was tagged with the loss for the Gold Miners.
NOJHL NOTES — The Daily Press three stars of the game were Hamelin, Mullen and Oosterveld … The Rock went 1-2 on the power play, while the Gold Miners were 0-6 with the man advantage … Official attendance at the McIntyre Arena was 898 … Friday’s other action saw the Espanola Paper Kings edge the Lumberjacks 6-5 in overtime in Hearst, the Blind River Beavers blank the Storm 4-0 in Iroquois Falls, the Soo Eagles fly past the Vikings 4-3 in Blind River and the Powassan Voodoos dump the Rapids 8-1 in French River … The Rock will return to action on Sunday when they host the Beavers at the McIntyre Arena, at 1 p.m.
