Fresh off a 5–1 road win in Noelville the night before, the Soo Thunderbirds returned home to the John Rhodes Community Centre on Saturday, December 6th, looking to carry that momentum into a difficult matchup against the visiting Timmins Rock. The Rock, also riding the high of a December 5th victory—this one over the Soo Eagles across the river in Michigan—came into the contest sharp and hungry, ultimately skating away with a hard-fought win in NOJHL action.
Timmins wasted no time getting on the board. Just 41 seconds into the opening period, Kaeden McArthur scored his 17th of the season off a setup from Maxfeld Shin, giving the visitors an immediate spark. The Rock extended their lead at 14:52 when Ryan Armitage buried his fifth, assisted by Thomas Beard and Ben Climenhag. With 1:13 remaining in the frame, Ben Hugessen added his first NOJHL goal, converting on a pass from Kimani Eccleston to give Timmins a 3–0 lead after one.
The second period saw momentum swing dramatically. McArthur struck again at 6:13—his 18th of the campaign—on feeds from Ashton Beriana and Jack Quevillon, pushing the Rock ahead 4–0. But the Thunderbirds finally found their stride shortly after. At 6:39, Vincent Bondy scored his first of the season, finishing a play created by Adam Pszeniczny. The Soo kept pressing, and at 8:37, Aiden Atkinson notched his 10th, assisted by James Legler and Brayden Gosselin, cutting the deficit to two. The John Rhodes crowd erupted at 18:40 when Legler scored a shorthanded, unassisted marker—his 14th of the year—bringing the Thunderbirds within one heading into the third and setting up a dramatic finish.
The final frame remained tight and tense until the closing minutes, when the Thunderbirds pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker. That decision set the stage for McArthur to take over. At 18:55, he completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal assisted by Lucas Lowe. Then, just 27 seconds later, McArthur struck again for his fourth of the game and 20th of the season, with Quevillon and Shin collecting assists, sealing a 6–3 victory for the Rock.
In goal, Frédéric Cousineau stopped 26 of 29 shots to earn the win for Timmins, while Soo netminder Ryan Hicks turned aside 26 of 30 in a strong performance despite the loss.
“I loved our effort tonight. A couple breakdowns led to the early deficit, but they showed a lot of character fighting back and we carried the play for large portions of the night. They are a great team and it was a great measuring stick for our young group,” said Thunderbird coach Jamie Henderson.
With the defeat, the Thunderbirds now shift their focus to a December 12th road matchup in Espanola against the Paper Kings. Meanwhile, the Rock continue their road swing with a December 7th afternoon contest in Blind River.
