The Timmins Rock pre-season schedule has come to an end, and it left fans with something to look forward to. The Rock won their first pre-season game on the road 4-1 over the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners, and they were dominant without key veterans in their lineup. Then they were put to the test; the Pelham Panthers who play in the highly competitive GOJHL league, were looking to play spoiler at the Mac. The Rock wouldn’t allow it; Timmins was on the board nearly 90 seconds into the game thanks to Riley Brousseau. Later in the period the Rock wanted to stay ahead of the Panthers and they did thanks to a goal by Zachary Smith. With under two minutes to play in the first period, it seemed like the Rock were going to take a 2-0 lead to the dressing room, but the Panthers brought a bit of momentum back on their side and were down by only one goal at the end of the first frame.

Heading into the second period, both teams came out with a lot of speed and physicality. No one wanted to give anyone an edge, the period saw a lot of back and forth action, but nothing more… So, at the end of two periods the Rock still had a 2-1 lead.

Over to the third period, You had that feeling that the Rock would need to put the game away and not give the Panthers any kind of opportunity to stay in it. Well the Rock began the third period the same way they started the game… they scored an early goal. After Derek Seguin put the Rock up 3-1, all they had to do now was play defense and not get any penalties. Unfortunately, the Rock did get into penalty trouble, coughed up a goal, and allowed the Panthers to stay in the game. The Rock may have gotten a few penalties, but they played some solid defense and were able to hold on for the 3-2 win. That win capped off the pre-season with a perfect record of 2-0.

The Rock have showed lots of speed and skill in their pre-season games, and it seems like that’s what they’ll look to use to their advantage as the season goes on. They got into a little bit of penalty trouble, but their penalty kill was solid. The Rock have shown a lot of growth so far compared to last season, and that’s what the goal is… to grow, and to succeed. They ended their pre-season schedule on a high note and will now look to carry that momentum into next Friday’s home opener when they welcome the French River Rapids to the McIntyre Arena.

 

Filed under: Local News