SUDBURY, Ont. – McIntyre Arena in Timmins will be the site of Game 1 of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) quarter-final series between the No. 4 Timmins Rock and No. 5 Soo Thunderbirds tonight at 7 p.m.
Only three points separated the two teams in the overall standings in what should be a highly competitive best-of-seven affair.
Here’s a glance at both teams heading into this evening’s opener:
SEASON RECORDS
Rock: 34-14-0-4 (4th overall)
Thunderbirds: 32-15-3-2 (5th overall)
HEAD COACHES
Rock: Brandon Perry
Thunderbirds: Cole Jarrett
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Sault Ste. Marie gained the early edge in their four-game season set with a triumph at John Rhodes Community Centre, but Timmins countered to take the final three meetings, including one in overtime, in their last get together.
The Rock ended up outscoring the Thunderbirds by a 22-13 margin.
RESULTS
Sept. 26: @ Soo (Thunderbirds 3, Rock 1)
Nov. 14: @ Timmins (Rock 9, Thunderbirds 2)
Dec. 6: @ Soo (Rock 6, Thunderbirds 3)
Jan. 23: @ Timmins (Rock 6, Thunderbirds 5 – OT)
SERIES SCHEDULE
NOJHL quarter-final
No. 4 Timmins Rock vs. No. 5 Soo Thunderbirds
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Friday, March 20 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 2: Saturday, March 21 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 3: Tuesday, March 24 @ Soo 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 4: Wednesday, March 25 @ Soo 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 5*: Friday, March 27 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 6*: Sunday, March 29 @ Soo 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 7*: Tuesday, March 31 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
*-if necessary
THE TEAMS
THE ROCK: After a relatively slow start, by their standards, Timmins turned it around by racking up a NOJHL season-high 21-game winning streak, that ran from October 25 through January 18. … Following some injuries to key components of their roster, the Rock went on to finish 34-14-0-4 overall. … At ‘The Mac,’ they had the second-best home record in the league at 20-5-0-1. … Away from home, the club was 14-9-0-3. … Timmins amassed 245 goals in total and tied for the second fewest given up at 149. … Finishing third-best in power play proficiency, the Rock converted at a 25.5% clip. … Their 64-man advantage markers were the second highest total in the league. … On the penalty kill, the team was fifth overall at 79.9%. … They did manage to collect 10 shorthanded goals, the sixth-best number overall. … When notching the game’s initial tally, Timmins went 30-3-2-0. … Holding the lead after one period saw the Rock sit with a solid 25-1-2-0 record. … They were unbeatable when up after 40 minutes, going a perfect 28-0-0-0. … Timmins had 10 games decided in overtime, winning six of them.
FORWARDS: Tying for sixth in league scoring, and leading the team offensively, was veteran Kaeden McArthur. … His 74 points saw him set personal single-season highs in goals and assists with 36 and 38 respectively. … McArthur shared the league lead in game-winning efforts with eight. … He wrapped up his regular season career with 200 points in 166 contests. … Another long-time member of the Rock, in Lucas Lowe, was second on the squad in points with 56 in 49 outings. … A couple of rookies up front held their own in their first year in Timmins. … Matteo Paradiso was over a point-per-game performer in his league debut, collecting 36 in 31 contests on 17 tallies and 19 helpers. … Meanwhile, Evan Katic banged in 10 markers and helped set-up 20 more, for 30 points in 49 appearances.
DEFENCE: Rock captain Braedyn Cyr proved to be one of the elite defencemen in the entire league. … Solid at both ends of the ice, Cyr led the club from the back end with 44 points by scoring six times and aiding on 38 others. … 18 of his points came via the power play. … Another crafty Timmins blueliner was Matthew Kim. … He easily surpassed his offensive totals from last season, picking up highs in goals, assists and points with 12, 25 and 37 respectively. … Cyr sat fifth in scoring among NOJHL D-men and Kim was eighth. … Also contributing from the blueline was rookie blueliner Jack Quevillon, who picked up 23 points, including 19 helpers.
GOALTENDERS: Returning from injury in time for the playoffs, Frédéric Cousineau shared the league lead in goals-against average at 2.14. … His overall record of 16-4-0-0 saw him win each of his final 13 starts. … He also topped all NOJHL netminders in save percentage at .934 and posted a shutout in his most recent appearance. …Rookie Ayden Mullen did his part in his initial season of Jr. A hockey. … The 16-year-old goalkeeper went 15-9-3-0 in 28 games played. … He sported a 3.27 GAA, along with a save mark of .891, and a pair of shutouts. … In his six times seeing the net, Virgil Sausset-Plateaux went 3-1-1-0 with a 2.54 average and a .897 SV%.
THE THUNDERBIRDS: Coming off a 14-point improvement in the NOJHL standings from the 2024-25 campaign, the Thunderbirds were a productive 32-15-3-2 this season to finish fifth overall. … The T-Birds come into the series as one of the hottest teams in the league, going a sharp 8-1-1-0 in their final 10 games. … Nearly flawless when ahead after 20 minutes, the Soo were 27-1-0-0. … Through 40 minutes, the Soo was an equally crisp 26-1-0-0. … When collecting the first goal in games, the Thunderbirds ended up with a 27-7-1-0 mark. … In overtime, the club had one win, two setbacks, and three ties. … While on the power play, the Soo sat fourth overall, converting at a 24.9% clip. … They supplied 52-man advantage markers. … The T-Birds were also fourth on the P.K., handling 82% of the time they were down a skater. … They picked up 12 shorthanded goals as well.
FORWARDS: Over a point-per-game competitor, Deven Jones-McDonald led Sault Ste. Marie in offensive production. … In 50 games, he pumped in 24 goals and assisted on 39 others. … His numbers were all single-season bests for him. … Highly skilled and speedy Aiden Atkinson was close behind Jones-McDonald with 59 points in 51 contests. … With 22 tallies, five of which were a team-high game-winners, Atkinson also helped set-up 37 others for his hometown side, as he too surpassed his totals from a year ago. … A veteran of 144 NOJHL contests, Thunderbirds captain James Legler continued his overall point-per-game prowess with 146 in that span. … This season he picked up 21 markers, aided on 36 more, for 57 points. … The impressive rookie trio of Gavin Killoran, Landon Hill and Adam Pszeniczny combined for 59 goals and 127 points. … Killoran’s 22 tallies tied him with Atkinson for second on the Soo.
DEFENCE: Some solid contributions on the back end by a three first-year blueliners helped boost the Thunderbirds defensive corps. … Rookies Vincent Bondy and Gianmarco Mastroianni collected 25 points apiece while Max DeCoff chipped in with 22. … The return of crafty Declan Gallivan also boosted the squad. … Gallivan had 18 points, in just 16 games, highlighted by doling out a team-high 10 by a defenceman on the power play.
GOALTENDERS: A stellar initial season of Jr. A hockey for Nathan McGuire saw him impress in his time in net for the T-Birds. … McGuire was third overall among all NOJHL goalkeepers in goals-against average at 2.21 and was second-best in terms of save percentage at .925. … To go along with that, he had an impressive record of 14-1-1-1. … Ryan Hicks, another netminder in his first year with the Soo, went 9-8-1-1 with a 3.52 GAA and .895 SV%. … Meanwhile, Cameron Boville sported a record of 9-6-0-1. … His average was 2.70 to go with a .912 save mark. … All three Thunderbirds netminders had two shutouts each.
UP NEXT: The series winner will move on to compete in the NOJHL’s semifinals.
BROADCASTERS
Rock: Andrew Autio & Jason Kelly
Thunderbirds: Anthony Valade & Dominic Turco
WHERE TO WATCH: All NOJHL playoff games are streamed live online via its official broadcast partner, at FLOHockey.tv.
Game Photos:
Thomas Perry – The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
