NEWS RELEASE
NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
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The fourth and final Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League quarter-final playoff series to begin is the match-up between the No. 4 Timmins Rock and No. 5 Soo Eagles.
Their initial game is slated for Saturday at 8 p.m. at McIntyre Arena in Timmins, Ont.
This will be the first-ever postseason meeting between the clubs.
Only two points separated the teams in the overall league standings, the closest margin of any of the four playoff series.
Here’s a look at the best-of-seven affair between the Rock and Eagles:
Season records
Rock: 33-16-2-1 (4th overall)
Eagles: 32-17-0-3 (5th overall)
Head-to-head: Evenly matched in the regular season against each other, both teams won twice in their four contests. The Eagles took the first two, before the Rock rebounded to win the last couple.
Each team won one apiece at home and on the road.
Timmins did outscore the Michigan Soo by a 14-11 margin along the way.
Results
Oct. 20: @ Timmins (4-2 Eagles)
Dec. 13: @ Soo (5-4 Eagles)
Feb. 13: @ Timmins (4-1 Rock)
March 8: @ Soo (4-1 Rock)
Series Schedule
Game 1: Saturday, March 22 @ Timmins 8 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 2: Sunday, March 23 @ Timmins 8:30 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 3: Wednesday, March 26 @ Sault Ste. Marie 7 p.m. (Pullar Stadium)
Game 4: Thursday, March 27 @ Sault Ste. Marie 7 p.m. (Pullar Stadium)
Game 5*: Friday, March 28 @ Sault Ste. Marie 7:30 p.m. (Pullar Stadium)
Game 6*: Sunday, March 30 @ Timmins 8 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 7*: Monday, March 31 @ Timmins 7:30 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
*-if necessary
The Rock: Continuing to produce results, Timmins boasted another 30-plus win campaign in 2024-25, having racked up a combined 227 victories over the course of the past six full seasons. … This latest stretch saw the Rock go 33-16-2-1. … Competing at home, the squad had fifth-best mark in the league at 18-6-1-1. … Away from McIntyre Arena they sat third overall, going 15-10-1-0. … In terms of goals-scored, Timmins banged in 214 pucks to finish with the third-highest. … Solid defensively, they only allowed 139 against, which was the second fewest. … Sitting second on the power play (25.2 per cent), they were third on the penalty kill (82 per cent). … The Rock supplied 58 man-advantage markers, which was the third highest, and tied for sixth in shorthanded goals with six.
Forwards: Third-year winger Kaeden McArthur led his hometown Timmins side in scoring with 56 points in 43 outings. … He matched a career-best in tallies (22), while setting new marks in assists (34) and points. … 22 of McArthur’s numbers came on the power play to lead the squad. … Next in terms of offensive production was another 50-point man, Jack Kelly. … He also easily surpassed his seasonal goal (22) and assist (28) numbers, while leading the team in game-winning markers (five). … Another veteran on the squad, in Lucas Lowe, finished third in scoring, averaging over a point-per-game with 48 in 43. … Reece Liu was sixth in league rookie scoring with 44 points and tied for fourth in assists (29) among first-year skaters. … You also have Brant Romaniuk, who collected 40 points in 28 contests. … He had the third-highest point streak in the NOJHL this season at 16 games. … Timmins was the only team in the league to have five players with seven, or more, man advantage markers this season. (Thomas Beard (eight); Lowe (eight); Kelly (eight); McArthur (seven) and Alexis Tremblay (seven).
Defence: Solid at both ends of the ice in his first year with the Rock was Braedyn Cyr. … He shared top spot among Timmins’ blue-liners in scoring with 29 points with team captain Tenzin Nyman. … Cyr led in goals (six) while Nyman was first in assists (23). … Their overall point totals tied the duo for sixth among all NOJHL D-men. … Also contributing 10-plus points were fellow defencemen Ethan Albert (13); Elijah Pool (12); Sam Gallagher (11) and Ayden Trottier (11).
Goaltenders: The Rock’s Dryden Riley led all NOJHL netminders in goals-against average (2.39), while playing the most minutes in the league (1,980). He also made the second-most saves (943). … Riley finished second in save percentage (.923). … Going 21-10-1-2 overall, Riley was second overall in victories and shutouts (three). … Rookie goaltender Graham Gee appeared in 17 games and posted a record of 10-5-0-0 with a 3.11 GAA and a save-mark of .891.
The Eagles: With first-year head coach Jeremy Rebek behind the bench, he guided the Eagles to a solid 32-17-0-3 campaign to finish fifth overall. … They were sixth-best as the home side, going 19-7-0-0. … Away from Pullar Stadium, the Soo went 13-10-0-3. … A 10-game winning streak during the season was the second-highest in league play in 2024-25. … No issue scoring, the Eagles had the fourth highest tally total (209) and allowed a share of third for fewest-against (143). … Special teams had the Eagles end up fifth (21 per cent) on the power play and were sixth on the P.K. (80.6 per cent).
Forwards: The impressive Eagles trio of Cooper Fredericks, Lucas Caulfield and Alex Povorozniouk all put up solid numbers this season. … They finished fourth, seventh and ninth respectively in NOJHL scoring. … Fredericks topped the team in goals (33) and points (69). … Caulfield, a second-year skater in the league, established single-season bests in tallies (25), helpers (38) and points (63). … Leading all rookies in offensive production, Povorozniouk notched 21 markers and set-up 40 others for 61 points. … Benjamin Pouliot was another player who performed at over a point-per-game clip. … He had 53 in 42 outings, including 27 goals, which placed him second on the squad. … Another point-per-game provider was Tyler Fortson who scored 14 times and assisted on 27 more for 41 points in as many games.
Defence: A couple of rookie rearguards, in Cole Wreggitt and Liam Watson, contributed nicely on defence for the Eagles. … Wreggitt led the team in offensive production with three tallies and 26 assists, for 29 points. … As for Watson, he collected 20 points in just 33 appearances. … The duo tied for the most power play points among D-men on the squad with 13 apiece. … You also had second-year blue-liner Gabriel Fisher provide 23 points on four markers and 19 helpers.
Goaltenders: In net, Jace Knoerle and Mason Burkes combined for 27 wins for the Eagles with each of them competing in their initial campaigns in the NOJHL. … Knoerle went 16-11-2-0 between the pipes, finishing fifth in victories. … He was fourth in minutes played at 1,677. … His 2.68 goals-against average was fourth-best in the league. … He also shared fourth spot in terms of save percentage at .911, while his two shutouts tied for third overall. … As for Burkes, he went 11-6-1-0 in 20 appearances. … Sporting a 2.71 GAA, that placed him fifth among netminders, he was ninth with his .909 save mark.
Up next: Awaiting the winner of this series will be a berth in the NOJHL semifinals. Those are slated to be contested from April 3-15.
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