On Friday, March 20th, the Soo Thunderbirds hit the road to Timmins to open their 2026 NOJHL Quarter-Final series against the Timmins Rock in game one of a best-of-seven matchup. The Thunderbirds enter the series looking to flip the script after posting a 1–3 record against the Rock during the regular season, with their lone victory coming back on September 26th in Sault Ste. Marie.
Despite that season series, this matchup is expected to be tightly contested. The Thunderbirds finished just three points behind the Rock in the standings, wrapping up the 2025–2026 campaign with 69 points and a 32-15-3-2 record, good for fifth place. Timmins secured fourth with a 34-14-0-4 record. One of the more notable contrasts between the two clubs comes in discipline, as the Rock ranked third in penalty minutes with 722, while the Soo was the most disciplined team in the NOJHL with just 453 penalty minutes all season.
Offensively, the Thunderbirds are led by Garden River, Ontario’s Deven Jones-McDonald, who paced the club with 24 goals and 39 assists in 50 games. Close behind was Sault Ste. Marie’s Aiden Atkinson, contributing 22 goals and 37 assists in 51 games. Rounding out the Soo’s top scorers is graduating forward James Legler of Beaconsfield, Quebec, who recorded 21 goals and 36 assists in 43 games, providing consistent production throughout the season.
Between the pipes, the Thunderbirds utilized a three-goalie rotation featuring Cam Boville, Nathan Maguire, and Ryan Hicks of Weyburn, Saskatchewan. As a group, they combined for a strong 2.93 goals-against average, ranking third in the league. Maguire was particularly impressive, posting a 14-1-1-1 record in 17 appearances with a 0.925 save percentage and a 2.21 GAA, along with two shutouts. Boville added a solid 9-6-0-1 record in 17 games with a 0.912 save percentage and 2.70 GAA, while Hicks appeared in 21 games, finishing with a 9-8-1-1 record, a 0.895 save percentage, and two shutouts.
On the other side, the Timmins Rock boast plenty of offensive firepower. Kaeden Arthur led the way with an impressive 74 points, including 36 goals and 38 assists in just 44 games. Lucas Rowe added 56 points (12 goals, 44 assists) over 49 games, while Brant Romaniuk was nearly a point-per-game player with 49 points in only 24 contests.
Timmins also leaned on a trio of goaltenders throughout the season. Frédéric Cousineau of Malartic, Quebec led the group with a stellar 2.14 GAA and a 0.934 save percentage, compiling 16 wins in 20 appearances. Ayden Mullen handled the bulk of the workload, appearing in 28 games with 15 wins and a 3.27 GAA, along with two shutouts. Meanwhile, Virgil Sausset-Plateaux, who began the season in Iroquois Falls, joined the Rock midseason and posted a respectable 2.54 GAA in limited action.
With both teams evenly matched in the standings and featuring balanced scoring and strong goaltending, this quarter-final series has all the makings of a hard-fought battle. The Thunderbirds will look to set the tone early on the road, while the Rock aim to capitalize on home ice advantage in what promises to be an exciting opening round matchup in the 2026 NOJHL playoffs.
NOJHL Quarter-Final
No. 4 Timmins Rock vs. No. 5 Soo Thunderbirds
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Friday, March 20 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 2: Saturday, March 21 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 3: Tuesday, March 24 @ Soo 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 4: Wednesday, March 25 @ Soo 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 5*: Friday, March 27 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 6*: Sunday, March 29 @ Soo 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 7*: Tuesday, March 31 @ Timmins 7 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
(* if necessary)
