The Timmins Rock, closed off the 2019 schedule on a five game winning streak and will now ride into the New Year with momentum on their side.

The Rock, are now only two points back of the NOJHL leading Powassan Voodoos; Something no one would have expected back in late October, as the Voodoos looked untouchable.

December was a tough month for the Rock, but the Rock won five of their six games and two of those wins were a 4-1 win over the Voodoos and a 9-4 win over the Hearst Lumberjacks.

As 2019 comes to a close here’s who’s leading the way for the Rock so far:

Josh Dickson, finished last season ranked at the seventh spot on the roster, and so far this year he is ranked at number one. He finished last season with 31pts and this year he is already at 37 with 17G 20A in 32 games played.

Right behind him with 36pts is Rock Captain Derek Seguin. Seguin, finished last season with 64 pts and he’s on pace to do it again.

Ranked third on the roster is Josh Anderson. Anderson was ranked second on the team at the end of last season with 44pts. At the end of 2019, he has 8G 23A which is good enough for 31pts and if he keeps this up, he could end up having a 60 point season.

One player to watch in the New Year will be Phil Caron. Caron, in his last two games put up 10pts, and almost managed to pull off back to back hat tricks. If he starts off 2020 the way he ended 2019, it will make life miserable for his opponents.

To the goaltending… The Rock, were fortunate to have Ty Masternak back for the 2019-20 season, but how the backup situation would be dealt with was a mystery. Vance Meyer who is a Guelph Ontario native, was known as just another backup goalie at the beginning of the season. Now everyone in the NOJHL knows who he is. Both Masternak and Meyer are ranked as the number one and number two goalies in the league.

Masternak, has five shutouts so far this season, his most recent one came in a 4-0 win over the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners on December 21. As for Meyer, he is right behind him with four shutouts. Goal scoring is one of the reasons as to why the Rock are where they are, but without these two in net… It could be a different story.

The Rock will start off the New Year with a two game road trip in Sault Ste. Marie as they’ll take on the Eagles and the ThunderBirds. They’ll be back at home on January 9th to take on the Cochrane Crunch. The Rock finished 2019 with a 26-5-1-1 record and now with 22 games remaining on the season, the games will start to matter a little more.

The Rock are chasing first place and will look to battle for home ice advantage as the post season isn’t that far away. To be able to achieve that, they will need to use the momentum they have and take advantage of it, but most of all… they’ll need to keep that foot on the pedal!

Filed under: Local News