Timmins Majors at the break


By
December 23, 2018

A 4-3 home ice victory over the Soo Major Thunderbirds on Saturday has the Timmins Majors going into a one-week Christmas holiday break on a winning note.

Goals by Cameron Dutkiewicz, Carson Cavalieri, Jesse Dupuis and Brady Hartwig lifted Timmins to the win. Brock Santa Maria with a pair and Cole Delarosbil replied for the Soo.

The win for Timmins followed a 3-0 loss to the second-place Kapuskasing Flyers on Friday.

With the weekend split, Timmins takes a record of 9-17-1 into the holiday season hiatus.

Majors head coach Brandon Perry has seen a gradual improvement in his Timmins team.

“I thought we were too inconsistent in the first half of season but we have come a long way I think since (training camp in) August,” Perry told Hockey News North. “Our compete level has been very good the last two weeks, which is a good sign going into the New Year.”

Injuries have affected the Majors thus far this 2018-2019 Great North Midget Hockey League season.

“Just like every other team we went through injury problems and illness,” Perry noted. “(Goalie) Dylan Dallaire was hurt for a bit but has been outstanding last two months. Gavin Martel has been hurt and sick with mono and the fact that he is a top pairing defenseman, his absence hurt us. One of our top scoring forwards, Brennen Martel, was out with mono. And Carson Cavalieri is a third-year forward who was out with a concussion. He just came back and he really helps our lineup. And (rookie forward) Sebastien Sutherland lost his finger (during a tournament game earlier this season.) We are hopeful he will return before the end of the season … he has been practicing but has not yet been cleared to play.

“It has been a challenging first half,” Perry continued, “but we are going to keep pounding the stone and set our goals high in the New Year.”

A lack of offensive production has hurt the Majors, who have scored just 57 goals in 27 league games. But with the aforementioned Dallaire holding the fort as a veteran goalie with a tidy 2.92 goals against average, Timmins has managed to keep the majority of the games that it has played close, including those against the high-scoring, nearby rivals from Kapuskasing.

On the scoring chart, aforementioned defenseman Cameron Dutkiewicz leads the Majors with 6 goals, 11 assists, 17 points. Next up are Eric Daigle with 6-7-13 totals, Jesse Dupuis at 10-2-12, Brennen Martel at 4-8-12, Landon McGrath at 2-9-11, Landon Deforge at 7-2-9, Joel Martin at 3-6-9 and defenseman Gavin Martel — who has played in just 16 games — with 1-8-9 numbers.

PHOTO: Timmins Majors in action against the Soo Major Thunderbirds during the 2018-2019 season. (Photo by Timmins Daily Press.)


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