Timmins Rock open 2026-27 NOJHL campaign on road

The Rock will finally make their home debut at the McIntyre Arena on the Friday, Sept. 25, when they host the Soo Thunderbirds, at 7 p.m.

Article content Fresh off an appearance in the NOJHL finals, the Timmins Rock will open the 2026-27 campaign on the road. The NOJHL schedule, released on Thursday, shows the Rock taking on the Storm at the Jus Jordan Arena, in Iroquois Falls, on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m. It will be the first of four-straight road games for the Rock who will then do battle with the defending NOJHL champion Cubs at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Greater Sudbury, on Thursday, Sept. 17.

The following night, Friday, Sept. 18, the Rock will tangle with the Paper Kings at the Espanola Regional Recreation Complex. Then, on Thursday, Sept. 24, the Rock will travel to Kirkland Lake for a game against the Gold Miners, at 7 p.m. The Rock will finally make their home debut at the McIntyre Arena on the following night when they host the Soo Thunderbirds, at 7 p.m. That contest will be the first of three-straight games on home ice, as they host the French River Rapids, on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 1 p.m., and

then the Paper Kings, on Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. The NOJHL’s 12 clubs will play a 52-game slate during 2026-27, once again in a one-division format. Each team will play 25 contests at home, another 25 on the road, plus two match-ups as part of the annual NOJHL Showcase, which will be held Oct. 6-8 at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury.

In addition to the dozen NOJHL teams, there will also be six Prep School squads taking part over the course of the three-day event. St. Andrew’s College is returning for a second straight year, while Gilmour Academy, Ridley College, Bishop’s College School, Rothesay Netherwood School and Upper Canada College will be making their Showcase debuts. The Showcase schedule, where the points will count in the standings for the league teams, will be announced once it is finalized.

Once again, during the 2026-27 campaign, all regular season games that are tied after regulation time will go to a seven-minute sudden-victory overtime period, skating three players aside. Should contests remain without a winner after OT, the game will end in a tie, and each squad will earn one point. Teams will still receive two points for wins in regulation and OT as well as one for extra time defeats.

The NOJHL’s regular season action is set to conclude, on Sunday, March 14, although the Rock will play their final contest, on Saturday, March 13, when they take on the Rapids in French River. Following that, the Top 8 teams will advance to the playoffs, with the eventual league winner moving on to represent the NOJHL at the 2027 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons. All NOJHL games will once again be streamed online via FLOHockey.tv, the league’s official broadcast partner.

— With files from NOJHL Network