The North Dundas Rockets welcomed the Bytown Royals to the Chesterville Arena on Sat., Jan. 4, in the NCJHL. The Rockets’ defenseman Brett Lannin (19) celebrates scoring the tying goal after tipping home a shot from the point when the Rockets pulled their goalie in favour of an extra attacker. The game ended in a three-all draw which was good considering the Rockets trailed 3-1 heading into the third period. Moore photo
CHESTERVILLE—The North Dundas Rockets played a pair of games this past weekend as they travelled to Metcalfe on Friday night to take on the Jets and welcomed the Bytown Royals on Saturday night.
Rockets 3 Royals 3
The North Dundas Rockets welcomed the Bytown Royals to the Chesterville Arena on Sat., Jan. 4, in the NCJHL. After knocking off the Metcalfe Jets the previous night, the Rockets moved back to within one game below .500 and moved to five points ahead of the Jets who sat in third place in the West Division.
The Royals opened the scoring at 4:41 of the first period and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The Royals took a 2-0 lead at 9:33 of the second period and made it 3-0 at 15:39. The Rockets got on the score board when Joel Hunt blasted one home from Cole Hodges and Brett Lannin with just 22 seconds remaining in the middle frame. The Royals took a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
The Rockets cut the deficit to one when Hunt roofed his second of the game from Jack Dewan and Lefebvre on the power play at 4:36.
With the time winding down in regulation, the Rockets pulled their goalie in favour of an extra attacker and this paid off as Brett Lannin tipped a Matt Pietrkiewicz slap shot from the point past the Royals goalie with just 35 seconds remaining, tying the game at three.
After the clock wound down in regulation, the teams headed to a five-minute three-on-three overtime period. The Rockets ran into some trouble in overtime taking a penalty about halfway through but were able to thwart the Royals power play and hang on for a three-all draw.
The Rockets outshot the Royals 41-40. Playing in goal for the Rockets was Sebastien Moreau making 37 saves.
Rockets 6 Jets 4
The North Dundas Rockets travelled to the Larry Robinson Arena in Metcalfe on Fri., Jan. 3, to take on the Jets in the NCJHL. The Rockets went into the game in second place in the West Division but were on a four-game losing skid. The Jets sat in third place three points behind the Rockets.
The Rockets opened the scoring just 31 seconds into the first period as Joel Hunt snapped one to the back of the net from Pierce Egan taking an early 1-0 lead. The Rockets took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
The Rockets made it 2-0 when Jack Van Kessel fired one home from Nicholas Carroll at 3:03 of the second period. The Jets cut the deficit in half when Conor Harty scored from Alex MacNeil and Dylan Tokessy at 6:28.
The Rockets regained a two-goal lead when Carroll sniped one from Justin Lefebvre and Hunt at 16:42. The Rockets took a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
The Rockets made it 4-1 when Lefebvre scored an unassisted goal with just 23 seconds into the third period and made it 5-1 at 2:06, when Cole Hodges lit the lamp from Xavier Langevin and Josh Tapp. The Jets returned fire scoring at 2:26 as Conor Roche finished from Alex Gordon and Colin Faubert to make it 5-2.
The Jets got to within two as Alex Cloutier scored from Connor Weatherhead at 11:18. The Jets made it 5-4 when Alex MacNeil fired one home from Mark Brosseau and Cameron Gallant with 2:40 remaining in the second period.
With the clock winding down, the Jets pulled their goalie in favour of an extra attacker but that backfired as the Rockets’ defenseman Egan found the empty net with just 42 seconds remaining in the game.
The Rockets hung on for a 6-4 victory, moving back to one game below .500. The Rockets outshot the Jets 39-29. Picking up the win in the Rockets’ goal was Sebastien Moreau making 25 saves.
Up next
The North Dundas Rockets welcome the South Grenville Rangers to the Chesterville Arena on Sat., Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
