GALLERY: Rock rallies to edge Eagles

TIMMINS, Ont. – The Timmins Rock rallied from a two-goal deficit and came back to beat the Soo Eagles 4-3 in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play Friday at McIntyre Arena with 839 spectators on hand.

A two-man advantage late in the opening frame helped the Eagles take flight with Stephen Smoody supplying his second of the season at 18:12.

Sault Ste. Marie added to their lead deep into the second session when Malik Ali struck shorthanded at 15:52 to put the guests up by a pair.

After firing 30 shots on Eagles starter Shane Brancato through two periods of play, they were finally rewarded with 73 seconds left in the middle session as Josh Anderon put the Rock on the board.

Building on that momentum, Timmins tacked on a trio of tallies in the third to fully erase the deficit as Stewart Parnell, David Laroche and Tyler Gilberds all connected for the hosts in a nine-minute span.

Brice French, with his first NOJHL goal, brought the Soo closer in the waning moments, but it proved to be the game’s final marker.

Chipping in with two assists for the Rock was Owen Shier.

Timmins out shot the Eagles 40-21 on the night with Tyler Masternak picking up the win while Brancato suffered the setback.

With the result, the Rock won their fifth straight game and improved to 9-1-1-0 overall while the Soo slipped to 4-5-1-1.

Photos by Andrew Autio