TIMMINS, Ont. – Timmins Rock netminder Tyler Mastenak stopped all 24 shots he faced to post the first shutout of the young Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League season as he backstopped his club to a 3-0 win over the French River Rapids Saturday evening, much to the delight of the 1,211 fans in attendance at McIntyre Arena.
The opening 20 minutes proved to be tight-checking with neither side being able to produce anything offensively much in part due to the efforts of goaltenders’ Masternak and Kevin Donaghey from French River.
It was much the same in the middle stanza until the Rock broke the deadlock late as Keegan McMullen collected his first NOJHL goal with just 18 seconds remaining in the frame.
Building on the momentum of that strike in the final moments of that session, Timmins would act quickly in the early moments of the third as Maxime Charbonneau and Alexi Quane-Arsenault converted 35 seconds apart to help seal the home-opening victory.
Mastenak did the rest as went on to notch his third career NOJHL shutout.
Charbonneau and McMullen also picked up an assist each to finish off with two-point affairs.
Donaghey saw 30 shots fired his way in defeat for French River
Game Photos courtesy of Thomas Perry, The Daily Press (Timmins)
