February 22 2010
The Wolves will live to play another day.
Catlin Cargill's slapshot from the top of the faceoff circle beat goalie Julien Quirion to earn the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves a 5-4 overtime victory over the Timmins Majors yesterday at the McIntyre Arena.
It also helped the Wolves stave off elimination, pulling them even at 2-2 with the Majors in the Great North Midget League opening-round playoff series. Game 5 in the best-of-five set will be played on Wednesday night in Sudbury.
"It's disappointing seeing as how we didn't win this game," said Majors forward Eric Martineau. "We could've taken this game, but it was just a mental lapse in overtime.
"We've been playing pretty solid in the playoffs and we can't be too disappointed because we've been scoring a lot, so going into the next game, I think we have a really good chance at winning because we can put the puck in the net."
The game-winner was scored in transition. The Wolves had a 2-on-1 rush with Cargill carrying the puck down the right side of the ice. He elected to unleash a low laser beam, which had eyes to get through Quirion's five-hole.
"We were too offensive-minded," Martineau said about what led to the final play.
"We had a whole bunch of chances to finish it and not being able to put the puck in the net really got to us, so when they scored, it was pretty disappointing."
Andre Comtois had two goals for the Wolves, while Gabriel Rodrigues and Steven Johnston scored their other regulation markers.
Martineau, Nick Baril, Steven Gagne and Mathieu Lefebvre replied for the Majors.
Following an impressive 8-5 victory on Saturday night to take the series lead, the sixth-seeded Majors had a golden opportunity to upset the third seed. Icing the first-round series would've been really satisfying in overtime, head coach Bob Savard said, but the loss isn't the end of the world.
February 15 2010
Mission accomplished.
The Timmins Majors entered their Great North Midget League opening-round playoff series in Sudbury with the goal of earning at least one victory in two games. They did just that by beating the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves 4-3 in overtime on Saturday.
With a chance to take a commanding 2-0 series lead on Sunday, the Majors could not bury the Wolves. The home team stormed back with a 4-2 win.
Having won a game in Sudbury, the Majors now have home-ice advantage and could end the best-of-five series next weekend. Games 3 and 4 will be played at the McIntyre Arena.
In Saturday's contest, Ryan Wildman scored twice and Eric Martineau potted the game-winner with four seconds remaining in the fourth period.
February 8 2010
Yesterday's Great North Midget League tilt ended with J.F. Sylvestre's arms up in celebration.
The Kapuskasing Flyers sniper notched his 31st goal of the season in overtime to hand the Timmins Majors a 6-5 loss heading into the postseason.
Because the match went to overtime, the Flyers locked up the fifth seed and winning became a moot point for the Majors, said coach Bob Savard.
"The overtime victory, to me, was irrelevant because we finished in sixth place," Savard said.
"Some people were wonderi
ng why I was pulling my goalie when it was 5-5. I would've pulled him earlier, but I felt we had a lot of pressure and thought maybe we would score 5-on-5. At the end, I took a chance and pulled him hoping to get a goal before overtime because we had to win (in regulation to finish fifth)."
The Majors finished the 34-game regular season with a record of 15-17-1-1.
The Majors appeared headed for its 16th win when the team opened up a two-goal lead in the second period at the McIntyre Arena.
Then, Sylvestre scored his first goal of the game, shorthanded no less, with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation.
Eight seconds later, Eric Proulx scored to tie the game at 4-4.
While neither goals were scored with the Majors' penalty-killing unit on the ice, Savard felt his team lost the momentum with a number of players taking turns in the sin bin.
February 2 2010
J.F. Sylvestre's four-point performance led the Kapuskasing Flyers to a 5-3 win over the Timmins Majors in Greath North Midget League action on Saturday night.
Sylvestre scored a goal and recorded three assists. The only Kapuskasing marker he wasn't in on was the one scored by Maxim Lamontagne, which proved to be the game-winner.
Rounding out the scoring for the Flyers were Daniel Knowles and Sebastien Tessier, who had two goals.
Erik Robichaud scored twice and Mathieu Lefebvre had the other goal for the visiting Majors.
With the victory, the Flyers extended their winning streak to four games and remained in fifth place. They currently sport a record of 14-13-2-2.
A Timmins victory would have propelled the Majors to fifth place with a one-point advantage over Kapuskasing. Instead, the sixth-place Majors (14-17-1-0) trail the Flyers by three points and have two games remaining in the regular-season.
The Majors will hit the road to play the Kirkland Lake Legion 87's on Saturday, then return home to meet the Flyers on Sunday.
If the playoffs began today, the Majors would draw the New Liskeard Cubs in the opening round for the second-straight season.
The Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves bumped the Cubs to third with a win over K.L. on Saturday.
January 25, 2010
The Timmins Majors brought the fight to a potential first-round playoff opponent over the weekend.
They were victorious 7-4 over the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves on Saturday night at the McIntyre Arena, but the visitors battled back the next day to earn a weekend split with a 5-3 win.
In yesterday's Great North Midget League contest, the Majors were in the thick of things through 40 minutes. They scored a pair of second-period goals to head into the third all square with the Wolves.
"It was within our grasp," Majors head coach Bob Savard said. "It was 3-3 and, generally, we have a good third period. I think what hurt us in this game, we were outhustled and out-shot."
Sudbury rallied for two goals in the final frame, which was capped off with an Andre Comtois short-handed marker, to earn the two points.
Comtois also tallied earlier in the game, as did Stephane Houle, Steven Johnston and Gabriel Rodrigues for the Wolves.
Dan Simunovic had a pair of goals, but in a losing cause. Justin Kord had Timmins' other goal.
Following Simunovic's goal with 48 seconds remaining in the second period, the momentum was clearly in the Majors' favour. In the third period, however, the Majors let it slip away as the hungry Wolves dominated the pace and created the better scoring chances.
Frustrated with their mistakes, the Majors began to turn on one another.
"In the third, we got outhustled, and that was because the guys on the bench were just complaining too much," Savard said. "They were more concerned about the other guys making mistakes on the ice instead of looking at the mistakes they were making.
"The game was in our hands, yet, they were still criticizing each other. It takes them out of the game and it showed. They just fell apart."
Though the Majors may have taken themselves out of the game, the Wolves still had to put a goal on the board to earn the victory. The game-winner was scored less than six minutes into the third on a 3-on-2 rush in which the visitors found an open Rodrigues, who wired the puck past goalie Matthieu Quirion.With four minutes remaining, a little insurance was provided with the team's penalty-killing unit scoring for the second time.
"We sort of broke down in the third," Simunovic said. "We had them at the end of the second, but came out flat in the third.
"It was a couple of costly mistakes. We all didn't do good as a team in the third ... We should have picked it up and gotten the win."
By the time Comtois tallied his second goal of the game, the Majors had already imploded, Savard said. Several players were pointing fingers and wanting more ice time.
"Everyone on the bench feels that they should be out (on the ice), and I have no problem with that, but everybody has to accept their role out on the ice," Savard said. "When you go out there, if you make a mistake you have to be accountable for it.
"They have to accept that when it's their turn on the ice, do something. If you make a mistake, 'How can I rectify it.' "
Things were more pleasant for the Majors on Saturday night. Simunovic, Kord, Nick Baril, Eric Martineau, Erik Robichaud and Michael Fink all tallied with Robichaud doing so twice.
Johnston had two goals for Sudbury, while Rodrigues and Guillaume Lecours adding singles.
The victory momentarily kept alive Timmins' hopes of moving up in the rankings before the beginning of the playoffs. With Sunday's loss, however, the Majors no longer have a chance at improving on their fifth-place standing. They carry a record of 14-16-1-0 and have three regular-season games remaining.
There is still a chance that the Majors can slip a position. The Kapuskasing Flyers are one point back in sixth and have five games left on the schedule. Still, Timmins is most likely to draw the New Liskeard Cubs, the Nickel City Sons or the Wolves in the first round.
"I think we can beat (the Wolves) in the playoffs if we play our style of hockey and not fall into their style of hockey," Simunovic said. "If we move the puck and play good defensive hockey, we'll come out with the win.
"We're strong offensively. In the league, we have the second-most goals for, so we just have to put the puck in the net."
In gearing up for the playoffs, Savard said there are a number of things the team has to address, including the issues of ice time and responsibilities.
"It's part of growing up and it's part of the learning curve that we have to build on for the next game," he said. "I'm still happy with the way the team is playing. We're showing composure, yes we fall apart once in a while, but every team goes through the same thing.
"I was looking at at least getting two points this weekend. It would have been nice to get four, but we are playing against a good team and they are going to come here to beat us."
January 18, 2010
A trip to Sudbury this past weekend wasn't so fruitful for the Timmins Majors.
Heading into action on Saturday, the Majors were riding a four-game winning streak, but then suffered their first losses of the new year.
On Saturday, the Majors fell to the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves 5-2.
In that contest, the Wolves scored all of their goals before the Majors could get on the board. Sudbury had a 5-0 lead early in the third period, but the shutout was broken at the midway point by Jonathan Levesque. A minute later, Joel Allarie's marker made it a three-goal game.
Yesterday saw the Majors play a much tighter game, though they were on the losing end of a 6-5 final against the Nickel City Sons.
Timmins had the lead for the majority of the game and was up by one with less than four minutes to play. That was when Alex Battistelli of the Sons scored the equalizer.
Then, with nine ticks left on the clock, Batistelli struck again to put the Sons on top for the first time. It was his third goal of the game and proved to be the winner.
Tallying for the Majors were Daniel Simunovic, Ryan Wildman, Eric Martineau and Steven Gagne. Gagne had two goals in the game.
The Majors (13-15-1-0) will host the Wolves next weekend for a pair of games. Saturday's tilt will begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday's match will get underway at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be played at the McIntyre Arena.
January 11, 2010
The Timmins Majors are on a roll.
They were also busy over the weekend, winning all three of their games.
The weekend began with a 6-2 victory over the New Liskeard Cubs on Friday night. The following night, the Majors edged the Kapuskasing Flyers 4-3 in overtime. They then finished off with a 7-5 triumph over the Cubs yesterday. The Majors played all three games on the road.
In yesterday's tilt, the Majors and the Cubs entered the third period tied 4-4 and with less than seven minutes to play, Aaron Martyn and Erik Robichaud both scored their second goals of the game in a span of 23 seconds to give the Majors a two-goal lead.
At the 17-minute mark, Brody Silk tallied his second marker for the Cubs, but Jonathan Levesque restored the two-goal advantage with an empty-netter.
Other goal scorers for the Majors were Eric Martineau and Justin Kord.
Jake Ryan, Jonathan Langford and Mitchell McCrank also had goals for New Liskeard.
With the victory, the Majors extended their winning streak to four games, which is currently the longest one in the Great North Midget League. The streak began with a rare 9-4 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars on Jan. 3. The Majors now have a record of 13-13-1-0 and rank fifth in the league.
In Saturday night's overtime result, Kord's second goal of the match pulled Timmins even at 3-3 with 7:26 remaining in regulation. In the extra period, Robichaud ended the game with a goal assisted by Ryan Mercier.
Robichaud, the Majors' leader in points, now has 27 goals and 27 assists for a total of 54 points in 27 games. He's tied for fifth in league scoring.
The Majors will play a pair of games against the Nickel Capital Wolves next weekend in Sudbury.
Timmins Majors News 2009-2010
January 4,2010
Majors end losing streak with rout of North StarsPosted By THE DAILY PRESS
What a way to snap a losing streak.
The Timmins Majors entered action yesterday riding a four-game skid, but they pulled off a 9-4 upset over the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars.
Defenceman William Quachegan and Ryan Wildman each notched a pair of goals for the Majors (10-13-1-0), who hadn't won since Dec. 5. Mathieu Lefebvre, Daniel Simunovic, Justin Kord, Erik Robichaud and Eric Martineau also scored in the road victory.
Joel McCauley scored twice in a losing effort. Davis Boyer and Brandon Warmington rounded out the scoring for the Great North Midget League's top team, which lost only its second game of the season.
The Majors got off to a quick start by scoring the first two goals. McCauley's first goal of the day made it a one-goal game, but Quachegan's second marker of the first period restored Timmins' two-goal lead.
In the second period, the Majors picked up where they left off by tallying four times. They added two more in the final frame while shutting out the North Stars (21-2-2-0).
Robichaud finished the game with three assists to go with his goal.
To their credit, the North Stars did beat the Majors on Saturday. They held on to a 7-5 win.
McCauley also scored twice on Saturday, while Warmington netted a hat trick with each goal coming in the third period.
Timmins' goal scorers were Robichaud, Martineau, Lefebvre, Nick Baril and Jason Legault.
The league's next game will be played on Friday night. It will pit the Majors against the New Liskeard Cubs in New Liskeard. The Majors will travel to play the Kapuskasing Flyers the next night, before heading back to New Liskeard for a Sunday tilt.
December 21, 2009
Majors lose to Silk, CubsPosted By THE DAILY PRESS
Brody Silk had a pair of goals and an assist to lead the New Liskeard Cubs to a 5-2 victory over the Timmins Majors on Friday night.
The two teams each scored two goals in the first period of the Great North Midget League game, which was played in New Liskeard, then Silk struck early in the second period for his second marker of the match.
The three points gave Silk 66 on the season, which was tops in the league heading into action yesterday.
Mitchell McCrank also tallied twice in the contest with Devon Wagner rounding out the scoring for the Cubs.
Justin Kord and Aaron Martyn were the goal scorers for Timmins. Erik Robichaud assisted on both goals.
The Majors now carry a record of 9-11-1-0 and rank sixth in the league. They are currently riding a two-game losing streak with both setbacks coming against the Cubs.
There is one game left in 2009 for the Majors, and that comes on Tuesday night in Kirkland Lake against the Legion 87's.
The Cubs, meanwhile, had one more game this past weekend. They took on the league's top team in the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars yesterday and played to a 1-1 draw.
November 30, 2009
No matter what the Majors tried, the Cubs just wouldn't go away.
The Timmins Majors (8-9-1-0) held a one-goal lead on four different occasions, but the scrappy New Liskeard Cubs (11-7-1-0) fought back each time in a game that ended in a 5-5 draw on Saturday night.
Jonathan Levesque led the Majors' offensive effort with two goals. William Quachegan, Erik Robichaud and Michael Fink also tallied for Timmins, which played its fifth-straight game at home.
Mitchell McCrank matched Levesque's pair of goals for New Liskeard. Brody Silk, Cody Blauth and Jonathan Langford scored as well.
The tie snapped the Majors' three-game losing streak -- two at the hands of the Nickel City Sons and one to the Kapuskasing Flyers the night prior.
"It's nice, especially in the last minute, not to lose the game," Majors head coach Bob Savard said. "I just think our shooting wasn't 100% what I like, but there was a lot more effort defensively to forecheck. Our forechecking today worked a lot better than the last couple of games."
Having scored the final goal of the game, the Cubs carried momentum into overtime and created two scoring opportunities. Both McCrank and Silk could not solve Majors goalie Julien Quirion to steal a victory on the road.
Though the Cubs repeatedly tied the game and forced an extra period, Quirion said his confidence was never rattled.
"It's no different than any other game," he said of playing in overtime and the pressure that comes with it. "It's like any other shot ... You have to stop it.
"It's part of the game. It's what you come here to play for."
In the final moments of overtime, the Majors became the aggressors, but like Quirion, Cubs netminder Nick Caldwell was up to the challenge.
"Both teams had a couple of chances and that's what the fans really want to see," Savard said. "Unfortunately, with our chances near the end, we couldn't capitalize. I was hoping we wouldn't have to go into overtime ... I thought we played well enough that we could've beaten them, but every time we made a little mistake, New Liskeard came back and responded. It's the little mistakes that cost us."
One mistake was being too offensive-minded following a faceoff, Savard said. McCrank's second and Langford's goals both came on the play after a draw. The former was scored from the slot and beat Quirion, who didn't see the shot and only reacted to it once it got past him.
"When it comes off the faceoff like that, you know the guys are all thinking offensive," Savard said. "They have to think that every faceoff they're going to lose. That's how they have to take the faceoff so they'll be prepared to play defensive hockey."
Silk, a native of Iroquois Falls and a former Timmins Eagle, recorded an assist to go with his goal. That gave him 48 points on the season, behind only Brandon Warmington and Brian Nanne of the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars in the Great North Midget League scoring race.
The Majors' next three games will be played against the Cubs. Next weekend, two of them will be played at the McIntyre Arena. Saturday's tilt will begin at 8:30 p. m., while Sunday's will get underway at 1:30 p. m.
November 28, 2009
High-scoring games are nothing new to the Timmins Majors.
Lately, letting leads slip away hasn't been new either.
The Majors held the lead on two different occasions last night, but couldn't hold on to either as they lost 7-6 to the Kapuskasing Flyers at the McIntyre Arena.
The Majors only held leads of one and two goals, but neither time was very lengthy.
Michael Fink and David Carrier each had a pair of goals for the Majors, while Mathieu Lefebvre and William Quachegan also contributed with markers.
J. F. Sylvestre had two goals, including the game-winner, for the Flyers. Remi Bernier, Remi Leclerc, Maxim Lamontagne, Alain Cheff and Patrick Charette were Kapuskasing's other goal scorers.
The Flyers had the largest lead of the game (three goals), and they too let that one slip away. Their second lead of match did stick, however.
After Quachegan's goal gave Timmins the early lead, the Flyers began teeing off on Majors goalie Matthieu Quirion. Charette evened the match with a deflection past Quirion. The goal was only a sign of things to come in the next 10 minutes.
The Flyers went up 2-1 soon after when they broke out on a 2-on-1 rush. Leclerc was the beneficiary of a Bernier pass, depositing it into a vacated net.
In the following minutes, Kapuskasing added two more. Lamontagne made the game 3-1 when he roofed the puck from the doorstep of the crease. He went untouched as he received a pass from the corner. Sixteen seconds later Cheff shot a laser past Quirion for a three-goal advantage.
Following Carrier's goal with 3:29 remaining in the period, Quirion get peppered. The goalie took a rocket of a shot off his mask, but shook it off and played perfectly the rest of the opening period.
To open the second period, the Majors scored four-straight goals of their own. Fink was the first and the last to score during that spurt with Carrier and Lefebvre tallying in between. Fink's second goal was scored from the faceoff circle after he spun and wired a blistering wrist shot. It gave the Majors a 6-4 lead.
Again, the lead did not last long. The Flyers tallied two-unanswered goals to end the period at 6-6.
Just one goal was registered in the third period and that was recorded by Sylvestre to deflate the Majors and their fans.
Timmins is now on a three-game losing streak. In each of those games, the Majors have had leads, but could not seal the deal.
Tonight, they will be back at it when they host the New Liskeard Cubs at The Mac. The puck will drop at 7:30 p. m.
November 23, 2009
It's difficult to score when you don't shoot the puck.
The Timmins Majors ran into that problem late in their 7-4 loss to the Nickel City Sons yesterday at the McIntyre Arena.
With less than 10 minutes left on the clock, the Majors went on the offensive during two power plays. Both times, however, they failed to pose much of a threat and couldn't capitalize.
The Majors seemingly did everything right in creating scoring chances with the man advantage, head coach Bob Savard said, but were just to tentative in sending the puck to the net.
"We were trying to be too fancy," he said. "We didn't have the drive to win. The other team wanted to win, they played until the last buzzer went."
Scoring in the loss were David Carrier, Michael Fink, Ryan Mercier and Erik Robichaud.
Sebastien Leroux had a big game for the Sons by scoring four times. His fourth goal with six minutes remaining in the contest was the Sons' seventh and the acted as the dagger that did the Majors in. Alex Bottigoni, Mitchell Byrne and Alex Crew were the other goal scorers in the victory.
The loss was the second in as
many days, both of which came at the hands of the Sons. On Saturday, Nickel City edged Timmins 8-7.
"Their defensive systems ... they play really differently in their end compared to the other teams, which makes it harder for us to score," Carrier said.
"They really use the D to D system, so they really control the puck around their net. Their wingers are usually in a good spot, so that makes it easier for them to come out of their end."
Despite any difficulties the Majors had with the defence of the opposition, they twice held a one-goal lead. Both times didn't last long though.
Early on, the Majors appeared to be the fresher of the two teams, but by the third period, the roles were reversed.
"It started off OK," Savard said. "The guys seemed to come out strong in the third, but then all of a sudden we stopped skating in our end. (The Sons) started controlling the puck for really no reason. I think they wanted to win more than we wanted to win.
"They played more physical hockey than we did. I think that's what hurt us. Anytime we played physical, we seemed to control the puck, but once we started running around without being physical, that's when they took control of the game."
With their goals, Carrier, Fink and Robichaud recent surge in offence.
Both Fink and Robichaud extended their scoring streaks to three games, while Carrier, who began the season as a defenceman, has now scored five goals in the last seven games.
"I like the change because it's a lot higher motivation," Carrier said of playing as a forward. "It's a lot more speed. You have to think faster and really try hard. It really brings out my game and I get more points.
"The conditioning is a big factor as a forward. You have to keep up with the play. The conditioning is a lot harder than on defence, that's the only thing I have to get used to. I'm getting used to it slowly. A couple more games and I should be at the level as the other forwards."
On Saturday, Fink and Robichaud's combined seven goals were overshadowed by Nickel City's eight.
Robichaud had four, while Fink netted a hat trick, but the Majors blew three different two-goal leads. Down 6-4 in the third period, the Sons scored four-straight markers to take their first lead and go up 8-6. Fink's third goal of the game came with 17 seconds remaining to pull the Majors back to within one.
The Majors next play on Friday night. They will host the Kapuskasing Flyers at The Mac.