Hearst: GAME 5: Timmins Rock's playoff run comes to an end in Hearst

Share this Story : GAME 5: Timmins Rock's playoff run comes to an end in Hearst Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr The Lumberjacks will move on to face the Greater Sudbury Cubs in the NOJHL's championship series, while the Rock will be left to contemplate what might have been throughout the off season Article content HEARST - The Timmins Rock's 2025 playoff run came to an end at the Claude Larose Recreation Centre Friday night. After taking down the Soo Eagles 4-2 in the quarter-finals, the Rock dropped a 5-3 decision to the Lumberjacks in Game 5 of their best-of-seven semifinal series. The Lumberjacks will move on to face the Greater Sudbury Cubs in the NOJHL's championship series, while the Rock will be left to contemplate what might have been throughout the off season. Perhaps the outcome of Friday night's contest was a foregone conclusion given the Rock's stinging collapse in the final three minutes of Game 4 at the McIntyre Arena and the fact five key contributors - forwards Jack Kelly and Brant Romaniuk, as well as blue-liners Ethan Albert, Sam Gallagher and Zach Secord - were unavailable due to injury. Still, using the next-man-up mentality, the Rock - including affiliate players (blue-liner) Jakob Drobny and (forward) Edan Etheridge - gave everything they had until the final buzzer sounded in Game 5. "We fought right to the end, man," said Rock coach and general manager Brandon Perry. "It was never an effort thing. We could have played better. Everybody in here knows that, but these kids battled right to the end." Even though the Rock were missing five key contributors, their coach was not about to use that as an excuse. "The pieces were there, but we just couldn't execute much in terms of game planning," Perry said. "You have to give credit to Hearst. They have a fantastic team. They have been building that thing for three years and they were a really tough opponent." Visiting teams traditionally have trouble beating the Lumberjacks at the Claude Larose Recreation Centre under the best of circumstances, although the Rock have had some success there the past couple of seasons. "We have won here before and split the season series, but it is a hard building to win in and we know that," Perry said. The Rock fell behind 2-0 in the opening period on Friday night, making the task of trying to stave off elimination even more difficult. Former Rock forward Tyler Patterson, who has driven the dagger into the hearts of his former team time after time since the Jan. 10, 2022, trade that sent him to Hearst, got the puck rolling for the Lumberjacks just shy of the midway point in the opening frame when he netted his seventh goal of the playoffs. Hugo Allard followed with his second goal of the playoffs six-and-a-half minutes later. Blue-liner Brayden Hindman's second goal of the playoffs, early in the middle frame, made it a 3-0 hockey game. The Rock finally got on the scoreboard less than two minutes later, as Kai Clayton scored his third goal of the playoffs. Any momentum the Rock may have gained from that marker was dissipated, however, when DonHeaven Veilleux netted his eight goal of the playoffs to increase the Lumberjacks advantage to 4-1. The Rock once again found the back of the net six seconds after the midway point in the frame, as Etheridge netted his first goal of the playoffs. Just over a minute later, however, the Lumberjacks took back the momentum in an all-too-familiar fashion as Mathieu Comeau scored his fourth shorthanded goal of the series to make it a 5-2 hockey game. Captain Tenzin Nyman closed out the scoring in his final game in a Rock uniform when he scored his second goal of the playoffs with just 39.3 seconds remaining in regulation, leaving the final score 5-3 in favour of the Lumberjacks. Nyman and six of his teammates - Clark Scaddan, Kelly, Clayton, Hayden Rynard and Aaron Shaw, up front, as well as Elijah Pool on the blue-line - will be too old to return to the Rock lineup in 2025-26. "That's always the hardest part, the heartbreaking part," Perry said. "It (Junior 'A' hockey career) goes by fast, but all of our 20 year olds played great tonight. They should have no regrets and hold their heads high. When they look back on their time here, I hope they look back on it with some great memories." The coach expanded his thoughts to include those who are eligible to return next season, as well. "They are all great kids and I enjoyed every second of it (regular season and playoff run)," Perry said. "They worked their tails off until the end." On the surface, it would appear the Rock should have a solid nucleus around which to build what they hope will be another contending team in 2025-25, but as anyone who has followed the NOJHL team for any length of time knows, not everyone who is eligible to return does, for one reason or another. "Next season starts now," Perry said. "There will be changes. That's always the case when you don't win. We will do what we can to ice a competitive team again. It's hard to win. When you think about the past four years, we have one championship and we lost in the conference finals three times. "We have been there every year and that's something that's hard to do. We have been on a pretty incredible run. None of it matters if you don't get the job done at the end of the day, but we have been a competitive team here. "If we had won Game 7 at home last year, who knows what would have happened. If we had won Game 7 at home my first year, who knows what would have happened. We were so close the three years other than the one where we won it. "You need special people in that room and even when you do, you are still not guaranteed to win, but I am really proud of the body of work we have had here over the past four years and I am looking forward to what comes next." Meanwhile, coach Marc-Alain Begin and his Lumberjacks will prepare to play David the Greater Sudbury Cubs Goliath when the puck drops on the NOJHL championship series. "You can never complain when you are going to the finals," he said, of the monumental task of trying to derail the Cubs championship aspirations. The Lumberjacks coach indicated there was no big secret to what his squad did well to end the Rock's playoff run Friday night. "I think we just bought into what we had to do," Begin said. "Our power play wasn't good, but our PK (penalty kill) was strong again. We got another goal from Comeau on the PK. "He didn't have many shots, many looks, but when he had to make a big save (Hearst goalie Alexandre) Boivin came through." The coach agreed the Lumberjacks' quick start was a key to preventing the Rock from building up any kind of momentum early on. "We knew a big start would go a long way and our guys were flying in the first period," Begin said. "I think it was one of our better periods all series long. They (the Rock) might have been down after the last game we had played because they were three minutes away from coming back to Hearst 2-2 and we pounced on them early. That was the difference in the game, for sure." In addition, it seemed like every time the Rock scored the Lumberjacks responded shortly afterwards to limit any momentum the visitors might have built up. "Timmins has a good team and they can score some goals, even with a couple of key guys out," Begin said. "So, we knew we had to keep going every time they scored a goal. Instead of being up 3-2, we made it 4-1, so I think our guys did a good job." A number of Lumberjacks players, in addition to Comeau and Boivin, made a positive impression on their coach in Game 5. "DonHeaven Veilleux played a really good game," Begin said. "He has been very good all series long and all playoffs long. "I thought Owen Hey made a nice play on our second goal and he was just everywhere tonight, finishing his checks and playing good on the PK. It might have been his best game of the playoffs, for sure." While the Lumberjacks would certainly appear to be the underdogs heading into the finals, Begin is confident they can upset the Cubs if they stick to the game plan. "We know it is going to be a tough series, they are well coached and they have a lot of top-end players," he said. "So, we know we will have to be at our best. We just have to go out there and show it on the ice. "I know they are the team to beat, but at the same time we have to respect them, not fear them. "I think it is going to be a good series." Boivin turned aside 36 of the 39 shots the Rock directed his way to earn his eighth win of the playoffs. Rock goalie Dryden Riley, who stopped 37 of the 42 shots he faced, was tagged with the loss. NOJHL NOTES - The three stars of the game were Veilleux, Hindman and Comeau ... The Rock went 0-6 on the power play and surrendered a shorthanded goals, while the Lumberjacks were 0-4 with the man advantage ... Official attendance at the Claude Larose Recreation Centre was 569. Share this Story : GAME 5: Timmins Rock's playoff run comes to an end in Hearst Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. 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