Photos: Caleigh Fera – Points North Media
SUDBURY, Ont. – Supplying a number of highlight-reel tallies, the Greater Sudbury Cubs were solid in downing the Timmins Rock 7-2 Thursday night in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
Greater Sudbury’s league-leading power play was quick to strike as the Cubs took an early edge when Noah Kohan slammed in a sharp cross-crease feed from Lucas Signoretti to beat Rock netminder Dryden Riley, before the proceedings were two minutes in.
After pressuring a turnover in the neutral zone, the home side countered quickly seeing Cameron Shanks finish off a two-on-one with Ryan Rubic and lift a shot over the glove of Riley to make it 2-0 at 5:52.
Tacking on another, Greater Sudbury’s Mason Walker darted down the left wing with speed and roofed a rising wrister from the sharp angle that found its way in for his 11th of the campaign, to put the hosts up by three after one period if play.
In the middle stanza, Timmins got on the board, 29 seconds in, as they countered off a giveaway at centre ice and came into the Cubs zone with numbers that led to Reece Liu slamming in a rebound by goaltender Karsen Chartier, after a Ryan Armitage attempt.
Getting that back at 3:24, Signoretti snagged a loose puck and wheeled into Rock territory and worked a give-and-go to perfection with Nolan Newton, before whipping in his 42nd goal of the season, which ties him for the most in the NOJHL in 2024-25.
From there, Signoretti sailed a lengthy feed up-ice that Newton knocked down behind the Timmins defence and raced in alone where he elevated a nifty backhand past Riley to make it 5-1.
A goaltending change saw Graham Gee enter for the Rock, but a flurry in front that was finished off by Walker, kept Greater Sudbury rolling.
Tacking on another at the tail-end of a man advantage, Newton put a play to the top of the crease that was inadvertently knocked in by a Rock defenceman.
Moving to the third, the evening’s final marker came with Timmins up a skater in the late going when a Brant Romaniuk chance was stopped by Chartier, but saw the puck hit off the leg of a spinning Clark Scaddan and bounce into the net to round out the scoring.
With the outcome, the Cubs now only require a combined three points gained, or dropped by the Hearst Lumberjacks, to capture the NOJHL’s regular season title.
