COCHRANE, Ont. – Steven Klink scored three times to lead the Cochrane Crunch to an eventual 4-2 win over the Timmins Rock Sunday in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest at Tim Horton Events Centre.
Getting the starting nods in net were Tyler Masternak for Timmins and Michael Nickolau for Cochrane.
Some strong work on the cycle by the Crunch helped them open the scoring for a third-straight outing as Sebastien Ouimet and Matt Hill combined to set-up Ryan Hunter parked to the right of the net where he stuffed in his 10th tally at 7:30 and also run a goal streak to four consecutive games.
Using some crisp puck movement during a man advantage, the Rock drew level at 11:22 when Henry Brock whipped one in from the slot to knot the affair at 1-1 that began with an Evan Beaudry point blast.
Up a skater in the back half of the second stanza, Cochrane went back on top when Klinck banged in a loose puck from the right of a sprawled Masternak, with Hunter collecting an assist.
Klinck was at it again on special teams before the period came to a close as he one-timed a Tyson Moore pass from the left of the net, this time, as his second man advantage marker gave the Crunch a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
In the third, the Rock pulled closer with 12:20 to go as Derek Seguin corralled the rebound off an Eric Moreau rising right point shot and stuffed in his 85th career NOJHL goal.
Klinck had a great chance to finish off a hat trick as he was sent in alone on a breakaway only to be stymied by the pad of Masternak, which kept it a one-goal game.
Timmins then picked up a late man advantage with just over three minutes remaining and pulled their goalkeeper for an additional skater half way through their power play.
However, Klinck broke up a play near his own blue line, then darted down the left wing before firing the puck into the empty net to collect his initial NOJHL three-tally performance in the final minute to wrap things up offensively.
Nikolau was solid for Cochrane, making 53 saves to earn the victory while Masternak faced 27 attempts in defeat.
The teams return to the ice Tuesday in an 8:30 p.m. start at McIntyre Arena with the affair also being streamed on HockeyTV.com.
Game Photos: Emily Martin