TIMMINS, Ont. – A Kaedyn Long shorthanded goal deep into the second stanza and the shutout goaltending of Iain Wintle led the Greater Sudbury Cubs to a 3-0 triumph over the Timmins Rock Tuesday in the third game of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League championship series, in front of over 1,200 fans at McIntyre Arena.
This sees Greater Sudbury take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven affair and will have a chance to close it Wednesday in Game 4, back in Timmins at 7:05 p.m., and on FLOHockey.tv.
Some quality netminding at both ends of the ice in the first period kept it scoreless into the intermission, thanks to the efforts of Wintle and Frédéric Cousineau of the Rock, who were both sharp.
Breaking the deadlock while down a skater late in the second stanza, Greater Sudbury’s Daks Klinkhammer generated a rush deep in Timmins’ territory where he worked his way behind the net and found an open Kaedyn Long with a pass in the slot that he collected and wired past Cousineau for his fifth of the playoffs.
Adding another early in the third, the Cubs broke out quickly from their own zone as Jacob Signoretti fired a quick feed up to the Rock blueline where a waiting Long neatly chipped it to Owen King, who darted down the right side and wired a shot into the bottom left corner.
Getting Cousineau out for an extra attacker and during a man advantage for a six-on-four with two minutes to go, the home side looked to get back in it.
However, Klinkhammer chased down a loose puck in the Timmins end, then outworked a defender down low and tucked his man-down chance into an empty net to seal the road victory.
The shutout for Wintle was his first of the playoffs.
The NOJHL champion will move on to represent the league at the Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, May 7-17, in Summerside, P.E.I.
NOJHL Final
No. 1 Greater Sudbury Cubs vs. No. 4 Timmins Rock
Game 1: Cubs 9, Rock 3
Game 2: Cubs 4, Rock 3
Game 3: Cubs 3, Rock 0
Game 4: Wednesday, April 22 @ Timmins 7:05 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 5*: Friday, April 24 @ Sudbury 7:05 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 6*: Monday, April 27 @ Timmins 7:05 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 7*: Wednesday, April 29 @ Sudbury 7:05 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
*-if necessary
Greater Sudbury leads best-of-seven series 3-0
Game Photos:
Thomas Perry – The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
