The Timmins Rock are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Timmins, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL).

Timmins Rock
CityTimmins, Ontario, Canada
LeagueNorthern Ontario Junior Hockey League
DivisionEastern
Founded1991
Home arenaMcIntyre Arena
ColoursBlack, gold, maroon, and white
       
General managerBrandon Perry
Head coachBrandon Perry
AffiliateTimmins Majors (GNML)
Franchise history
1991–1999Timmins Golden Bears
1999–2002Iroquois Falls Jr. Eskis
2002–2015Abitibi Eskimos
2015–presentTimmins Rock

History

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The Timmins Golden Bears became members of the NOJHL in 1991. The Golden Bears won their league championship in 1995. In 1999, the Timmins Golden Bears relocated to Iroquois Falls, Ontario, and became the Iroquois Falls Jr. Eskies. After three seasons, the Jr. Eskies re-branded as the Abitibi Eskimos. Attendance improved and the Eskimos played good-quality hockey. The Eskimos hosted the 2007 Dudley Hewitt Cup, but lost the semi-finals to the Schreiber Diesels. Three years later in 2009–10, the Eskimos clinched first overall and won the NOJHL championship over the Soo Thunderbirds, who were hosting the Dudley Hewitt Cup. The Eskimos would finish 4th in the 2010 Dudley Hewitt Cup tournament. The Eskimos never made the NOJHL finals again.

In March 2015, the Abitibi Eskimos announced they were relocating back to Timmins after 16 years in Iroquois Falls. The Timmins NOJHL franchise announced that they were not going to name the team the Timmins Golden Bears, and named the team the Timmins Rock instead when unveiling the team name, colors and jerseys at an event.

The Rock finished their first season in Timmins with a 29–24–1 record, which was good for 4th place in the NOJHL East Division. The Rock swept the Iroquois Falls Eskis in the 1st round of the playoffs, winning 8–1 at home in game one, and 3–1 in Iroquois Falls. However the Cochrane Crunch would be too much for them to handle in the next round, and they defeated the Rock in 4 straight. Jordan Rendle would pace the team with 30 goals, while Zachary Kercz had a team high 55 assists and 81 points. Logan Ferrington appeared in net 35 times for the Rock, and finished with a 20–13–1 record with a 3.94 GAA. The Rock averaged 595 fans per game at the McIntyre Arena, second highest in the league. Kercz would also be awarded a place on the CCM 2nd All-Star Team at the end of the season.

In the 2016–17 season, the Rock finished the regular season with a record of 36–16–3–1 and 76 points, third in the East Division and fourth overall. In the playoffs, they upset the Cochrane Crunch in six games and advanced to the divisional finals where they were swept in four games against regular season champion Powassan Voodoos.

Head coach Paul Gagne retired at the end of the 2016–17 season and Ryan Woodard was named as his replacement, however, in May 2017 he was fired before the season for a non-hockey related matter. Corey Beer was hired as the next head coach in the 2017–18 season. Beer was previously an associate coach of the Cobourg Cougars in the Ontario Junior Hockey League that had won the 2017 Royal Bank Cup. He left before the abbreviated 2020–21 season for the Okanaghan Hockey Academy[1] and the team completed the season without a head coach. Brandon Perry was then hired as the head coach and general manager for the 2021–22 season.[2]

Season-by-season results

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Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Pts Results Playoffs
Timmins Golden Bears
1991–92 48 33 13 2 361 173 68 2nd NOJHL
1992–93 48 42 4 2 407 176 86 1st NOJHL Lost final
1993–94 40 19 19 2 190 192 40 4th NOJHL
1994–95 48 39 9 0 303 165 78 1st NOJHL Won League
1995–96 44 29 14 1 206 173 59 3rd NOJHL
1996–97 40 13 25 2 131 222 28 4th NOJHL
1997–98 40 13 20 7 136 210 33 4th NOJHL
1998–99 40 12 24 4 128 189 28 5th NOJHL
Iroquois Falls Jr. Eskis
1999–00 40 20 19 1 171 180 41 4th NOJHL
2000–01 40 15 24 0 1 171 224 31 5th NOJHL
2001–02 42 14 24 0 4 165 246 32 5th NOJHL
Abitibi Eskimos
2002–03 48 23 22 3 210 207 49 5th NOJHL
2003–04 48 26 18 3 1 191 156 56 4th NOJHL
2004–05 48 30 13 4 1 201 148 65 2nd NOJHL Lost semi-final
2005–06 48 20 24 3 1 174 190 44 5th NOJHL Lost quarter-final
2006–07 48 26 16 0 6 177 174 58 3rd NOJHL Lost quarter-final
2007–08 50 31 14 5 224 157 94 2nd NOJHL Lost final
2008–09 50 29 17 4 198 166 62 3rd NOJHL Lost semi-final
2009–10 50 40 7 3 263 141 83 1st NOJHL Won League
2010–11 50 26 23 1 216 217 53 5th NOJHL Lost semi-final
2011–12 50 28 18 4 241 222 60 4th NOJHL Lost quarter-final
2012–13 48 14 31 0 3 165 258 31 7th NOJHL Lost quarter-final
2013–14 56 30 22 0 4 212 212 64 4th NOJHL Lost semi-final
2014–15 52 28 20 0 4 243 233 60 4th of 5, East
6 of 9, NOJHL
Lost div. semi-finals, 2–4 vs. Cochrane Crunch
Timmins Rock
2015–16 54 29 24 1 0 257 219 59 4th of 6, East
6th of 12, NOJHL
Won Div. Play-in series, 2–0 vs. Iroquois Falls Eskis
Lost div. semi-finals, 0–4 vs. Cochrane Crunch
2016–17 56 36 16 3 1 271 202 76 3rd of 6, East
4th of 12, NOJHL
Won Div. Semifinals, 4–2 vs. Cochrane Crunch
Lost Div. Finals, 0–4 vs. Powassan Voodoos
2017–18 56 19 31 3 3 142 184 44 5th of 6, East
10th of 12, NOJHL
Won Div. Play-in series, 2–1 vs. Hearst Lumberjacks
Won Div. Semifinals, 4–2 vs. Powassan Voodoos
Lost Div. Finals, 1–4 vs. Cochrane Crunch
2018–19 56 33 20 3 186 156 69 4th of 6, East
5th of 12, NOJHL
Won Div. Quarterfinals, 2–0 vs. Cochrane Crunch
Lost div. semi-finals, 3–4 vs. Hearst Lumberjacks
2019–20 56 42 11 3 231 100 87 2nd of 6, East
2nd of 12, NOJHL
Led Div. Semifinals, 1–0 vs. Hearst Lumberjacks
Postseason cancelled
2020–21 22 18 14 0 110 43 36 1st of 4, East
1st of 9, NOJHL
No playoffs were held
2021–22 48 33 8 7 225 124 73 1st of 6, East
2nd of 12, NOJHL
Won Div. Quarterfinals, 4–0 vs. French River Rapids
Lost div. semi-finals, 3–4 vs. Hearst Lumberjacks
2022–23 58 45 8 5 273 111 95 1st of 6, East
1st of 12, NOJHL
Won Div. Quarterfinals, 4–1 vs. French River Rapids
Won div. Semi-finals, 4–0 vs. Powassan Voodoos
Won League finals, 4–2 vs. Soo Thunderbirds
WON LEAGUE
Advance to Centennial Cup
2023–24 58 41 15 2 0 272 177 73 1st of 6, East
3rd of 12, NOJHL
Won Div. Semi-finals, 4–0 vs. Iroquois Falls Storm
Lost Div. Finals, 3-4 vs. Powassan Voodoos

Centennial Cup - Revised format 2022

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Canadian Jr. A National Championships
Maritime Junior Hockey League, Quebec Junior Hockey League, Central Canada Hockey League, Ontario Junior Hockey League, Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, Superior International Junior Hockey League, Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, Alberta Junior Hockey League, and Host. The BCHL declared itself an independent league and there is no BC representative.
Round-robin play in two 5-team pools with top three in pool advancing to determine a Champion.

Year Round-robin Record Standing Quarterfinal Semifinal Championship
2023 OTW, Yarmouth Mariners (MarJHL), 4-3
L, Cobras de Terrebonne (LHJQ), 1-2
L, Brooks Bandits (AJHL), 0-9
OTW, Ottawa Jr. Senators (CJHL), 2-1
0-2-2-0 5th of 5
Pool A
did not qualified did not qualified did not qualified

Notable alumni

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Golden Bears Logo

References

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  1. ^ "Corey Beer Staff Profile". Elite Prospects. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  2. ^ "Rock name Brandon Perry head coach/GM". NOJHL. April 30, 2021.
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Eskimos logo