TIMMINS, Ont. – An Austin Whelan goal with 8:19 remaining in regulation held upas the game-winner as the Cochrane Crunch went on to edge the Timmins Rock 2-1 Thursday in a low-scoring Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest at McIntyre Arena.
Cochrane kicked off the night’s scoring three and a half minutes into the contest as Clay Ellerbrock finished off a Laramie Kostelansky feed for his 11th goal of the season.
Timmins countered with the equalizer early into the second stanza as Evan Kentish-Stack supplied his sixth of the campaign at 2:04 by finishing off the work teammates Shawn Sloan and Riley Bobitaille.
It stayed tied 1-1 until the back-half of the final frame when Whelan’s 13th tally of the season held up as the difference maker.
Taylor Unruh finished with 27 saves to record the victory for Cochrane helping them inch ever-closer to securing a home ice advantage in their upcoming initial playoff series.
Tyler Masternak faced 26 shots in the narrow setback for Timmins.
Photos courtesy of Thomas Perry, The Daily Press (Timmins)
