Timmins Rock forward Thomas Beard attempts to jam the puck under Hearst Lumberjacks goalie Alexandre Boivin during the first period of Friday night’s NOJHL game at the McIntyre Arena. While Beard was foiled on this play, he scored a shorthanded marker in the second period to help the Rock edge the Lumberjacks 3-2. THOMAS PERRY/THE DAILY PRESS jpg, TD, apsmc
Blue-liner Zach Secord’s first NOJHL goal stood up to be the game-winner as the Timmins Rock held on to edge the Hearst Lumberjacks 3-2 at the McIntyre Arena Friday night.
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
It was the sixth-straight win for the Rock who pulled within a point of the second-place Lumberjacks in the NOJHL standings.
“My defensive partner (Elijah Pool) fed the puck across to me and I just stepped in an put a little floater on net and the puck ended up in the back of the net,” Secord said, describing how the play developed that result in his first career NOJHL tally.
“It was pretty exciting, a huge goal.”
Secord has played in 15 games this season, picking up five assists to go along with his initial NOJHL goal. In 2023-24 he got into 10 games as an affiliate player and dished out four helpers, after playing in a pair of regular season games in 2022-23 and two playoff games in 2023.
“I have been really focused on defence first, especially in my first year, making sure I play our systems correctly,” he said.
Following a scoreless opening period, Thomas Beard broke in all alone to score an unassisted shorthanded marker, his sixth goal of the season, 3:04 into the middle frame.
Exactly one minute later, blue-liner Adam Shillinglaw netted a power-play marker, his ninth tally of the campaign to tie things up for the Lumberjacks.
But the Rock were able to retake the lead before the second intermission, thanks to Jack Kelly’s ninth goal of the season.
Secord’s seeing eye shot from the point then found the back of the Hearst net early in the third period to put the Rock in front 3-1.
That marker would prove to be critical, as Liam Boswell’s eighth tally of the campaign pulled the Lumberjacks back to within a single goal shortly after the midway point in the frame.
The Lumberjacks pulled goalie Alexandre Boivin in favour of an extra attacker with 1:36 remaining in regulation in hopes of netting an equalizer, but the Rock held firm.
Secord was happy to see his squad earn its sixth-straight win, against arguably the toughest team they have played during that stretch.
“Everyone competed really hard and worked non-stop out there tonight,” he said.
“We were just able to grind them down.”
Secord admitted a critical component to the Rock’s success Friday night was taking the lead and then not giving it up.
“It is a lot easier to play when you are ahead, especially against a team like Hearst” he said. “It was a big rivalry game.”
Rock goalie Dryden Riley stopped 17 of the 19 shots he faced to earn his 11th win of the season.
Boivin, who turned aside 19 of the 22 shots the Rock directed his way, was tagged with the loss.
NOJHL NOTES — The Daily Press three stars of the game were Beard, Shillinglaw and Secord … The Rock went 0-2 on the power play, while the Lumberjacks were 1-5 with the man advantage … Official attendance at the McIntyre Arena was 896 … Friday’s other action saw the Eagles thump the Elliot Lake Vikings 10-2 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., the Voodoos fly past the Espanola Paper Kings 5-3 in Powassan, the Rapids ground the Soo Thunderbirds 5-2 in French River and the Blind River Beavers edge the Storm 2-1 in overtime in Iroquois Falls … The Rock will return to action on Sunday when they host the Blind River Beavers at the McIntyre Arena, at 1 p.m.
