TIMMINS, Ont. – The Timmins Rock saw Derek Seguin collect his fifth career Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League hat trick Thursday evening to lead his side to an 8-3 win over the Cochrane Crunch at McIntyre Arena.
Forcing a turnover early in the contest, Timmins converted 88 seconds into the match-up that was finished off from in close by Henry Brock as he slid in his third of the year with help from Harry Clark and Evan Beaudry.
Sequin added to the cushion midway through the period by using a Crunch defender as a screen and wiring a quick shot over the blocker of Liam McCarthy in the Cochrane net.
A third Timmins tally came at 14:07 when Tyler Gilberds cranked a rising shot from the high slot that flew into the top of the net.
Coming right back on the next shift, it was more Rock with team captain Seguin stealing the puck in Cochrane territory before darting in and finishing off a second attempt for another marker in the session.
Getting one back late, the visitors saw Mike Iatridis snap a shot through a Timmins defender that found its way through goalkeeper Gavin McCarthy.
Clark clicked on the power play for the hosts at 6:18 of the middle session as he chipped one in from the top of the crease off a Tyler Patterson feed from the left side.
Firing one through a maze from the left point resulted in Travis Szafron finding the back of the net five minutes later to make it a 5-2 score as the teams headed to the dressing rooms for the second intermission.
Adding to their edge midway through the final frame, Clark collected his third point of the contest as he chipped one out of his own zone to Gilberds, who skated into Cochrane territory and promptly picked the left-hand corner.
Getting that back just over a minute later, Matteo Peca scored for a second straight outing while also running a point streak to four in succession as he converted from close range at 10:59.
However, Josh Dickson helped secure the home ice victory for the Rock as he lifted in a backhand off a two-on-two rush into the Crunch zone as he converted for a third straight outing and registered at least one point in 18 of 20 games played this season.
A late power play had Timmins round out the scoring as Seguin hit his hat trick at 18:51 to record his fifth NOJHL three-tally performance.
Shots on goal ended 50-28 in favour of the victors.
The clubs will renew acquaintances Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Tim Horton Event Centre in Cochrane and on HockeyTV.com.
Game Photos:
Thomas Perry – The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
