Photos: Rob Fera – Points North Media
SUDBURY, Ont. – Coming back from a pair of two-goal deficits, the St. Andrew’s College Saints went on to knock off the Timmins Rock 8-5 in a high-scoring Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League Showcase affair Tuesday at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
The Rock got off to a solid start, striking twice before the contest was two and a half minutes old.
Matteo Paradiso began the outburst as he took a pass from Ashton Beriana, then while using a screen, wired a shot in the right circle past a blocked out Andrew Menlove, in the Saints’ net.
Timmins then made it 2-0 just 28 seconds later thanks to Nolan McVeigh, who lifted one in from distance, as his attempt from the right point sailed in through a maze of players piled up out front.
St. Andrew’s got one back a couple of shifts later thanks to Andy Huang finishing off some crisp puck movement from the slot that was generated with speed out of their own end as he buried one over the blocker of Rock netminder Logan Coates.
While the Saints began to create more chances into the second stanza, it was Timmins’ NOJHL-leading power play that went to work and made it 3-1 when Nolan Chabot took a Ben Climenhaga pass up top and fired a shot through more bodies that flew in at 6:43.
Pulling back to within one again, Cole Cartan of St. Andrew’s wheeled around behind the Rock net and put the puck in front where Alec Walker chipped it past Coates.
Tying it up quickly in the third period on a man advantage opportunity, the Saints’ James Roy fired a shot that got through Coates and left Nate Feiner with a tap in.
They then took their first lead while shorthanded on an odd-man rush that saw Ryan Murray dash down the left side and wire a shot off the crossbar and in at the three-minute mark.
Regrouping on a man advantage, Timmins pulled even when Beriana got the last touch in the crease off of previous chances from Evan Katic and Maxx Hamelin.
A third power play tally form the Rock saw them go back in front on a five-on-three thanks to Climenhaga as he worked a quick give-and-go with Jakob Drobny and whistled in a sharp wrist shot at 7:43.
Continuing to go back-and-forth, the Saints answered with another special teams effort of their own thanks to Tucker Sinclair slamming in a one-timer from the right side after being teed with thanks to a cross-ice pass from Huang.
Going ahead for good, St. Andrew’s pressured the play down low then worked a chance out front that Walker finished off.
Adding to the result at even strength, less than a minute later, Gianni Livolsi knocked in Colin MacCormack shot from the point out of mid-air.
The Saints then wrapped up the come from behind win with an empty netter courtesy of Feiner to close out the scoring.
Taking home Player of the Game accolades were Walker and Paradiso.
