PHOTO CREDIT: Caleigh Fera / Points North Media
SUDBURY, Ont. – The 2025 Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs get underway Thursday on two fronts.
One of those match-ups will feature the NOJHL regular season title holders, and No. 1 seeded, Greater Sudbury Cubs taking on the No. 8 Iroquois Falls Storm.
Greater Sudbury are also the defending Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy league champions.
Game 1 of this best-of-seven affair goes Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
Here’s a look at the two teams taking part in the series:
SEASON RECORDS:
CUBS: 44-6-1-1 (1st overall)
STORM: 22-26-1-3 (8th overall)
HEAD COACHES
CUBS: Darryl Moxam
STORM: Jamy Bernier
HEAD-TO-HEAD: The clubs met four times during the course of the campaign, with Greater Sudbury coming away victorious on each occasion.
However, three of those contests were decided by just one goal.
In those combined meetings, the Cubs outscored the Storm by a 17-10 count.
RESULTS
Sept. 21: @ Iroquois Falls (4-3 Cubs)
Nov. 9: @ Iroquois Falls (4-3 Cubs)
Dec. 5: @ Sudbury (6-2 Cubs)
Jan. 30: @ Sudbury (3-2 Cubs)
SERIES SCHEDULE
NOJHL quarter-final
No. 1 Greater Sudbury Cubs vs. No. 8 Iroquois Falls Storm
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Thursday, March 20 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 2: Friday, March 21 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 3: Monday, March 24 @ Iroquois Falls 7:30 p.m. (Jus Jordan Arena)
Game 4: Tuesday, March 25 @ Iroquois Falls 7:30 p.m. (Jus Jordan Arena)
Game 5*: Thursday, March 27 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 6*: Sunday, March 30 @ Iroquois Falls 7:30 p.m. (Jus Jordan Arena)
Game 7*: Tuesday, April 1 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (T.M. Davies Community Centre Arena – Walden)
*-if necessary
THE CUBS: Greater Sudbury was solid throughout the regular season, finishing 10 points clear of the Hearst Lumberjacks to claim the league’s regular season crown. … After a tie and a defeat on home ice to commence their campaign, the Cubs reeled off 24 straight victories at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex. … They were also a league-best 20-5-0-1 on the road. … Slotted seventh overall in the final Canadian Junior Hockey League Top 20 Rankings – Fuelled by Gatorade, Greater Sudbury notched the second-most tallies in league play (252) and allowed the fewest (114). … Special teams saw the Cubs lead the way in both power play proficiency (31%) and penalty kill prowess (88.5%). … They were first in total man advantage markers (72) and second in shorthanded goals (12).
FORWARDS: The talented duo of Lucas Signoretti and Samuel Assinewai were tremendous for the Cubs throughout the season, finishing first and third, respectively, in NOJHL scoring. … Signoretti had 101 points by scoring 46 times, which was second overall, and dishing out a league-high 55 assists. … He topped all skaters in power play points (36) as well as shorthanded goals (5) and points (7). … As for Assinewai, he too produced at well over a point-per-game clip with 72 in 39 contests. … 17 of his 34 goals came on the power play to lead all league skaters in that category. … Signoretti was twice named a NOJHL BrokerLink Insurance Forward of the Month, while Assinewai picked up the laurels once. … After spending the first half of the season in the OHL, crafty Cubs’ forward Nolan Newton was stellar upon his return to the team. … Newton was only held pointless once in 26 games, scoring in 17 of them, while amassing 53 points on 24 tallies and 29 helpers. … He also scored on a penalty shot back in December, becoming one of four in the league to do so this season. … They also received solid contributions from veteran Noah Kohan (51 PTS) and rookie Mason Walker (45 PTS), who both played at a point-per-game rate.
DEFENCE: Led by their captain, Mason Chitaroni, he anchored the club’s defensive corps on the year. … Chitaroni was second among all league blueliners in points (49) and paced the pack in assists (38). … 21 of his points came on the power play, which also led all NOJHL rearguards. … He was tabbed the league’s BrokerLink Insurance Defenceman of the Month for December. … Rookie Alexandre Valade stepped up when needed, especially when the Cubs’ back-end were dealing with injuries. … While solid defensively, Valade also chipped in with 27 points. … He was tabbed the league’s BrokerLink Insurance Defenceman of the Month for January. … A key pick-up back in November was Spencer Horgan, who led all D-men in offensive numbers last season, while with Espanola. … Despite missing time on the injury front, Horgan still collected 21 points in 17 appearances.
GOALTENDERS: In his third year with the Cubs, Noah Beaulne saw over 1,500 minutes of game action in 2024-25, and had a solid 18-4-1-1 record. … His 2.44 goals-against average was second-best in the league, among qualified goaltenders. … Beaulne led all NOJHL netminders in shutouts with four. … Acquired back in mid-December, Karsen Chartier registered firm numbers with Greater Sudbury, going 11-1-0-0 with a crisp 1.76 GAA and equally sharp .940 save mark. … He also posted two shutouts.
THE STORM: Playing their best hockey of the season when it mattered most, Iroquois Falls went 6-0-1-0 in their final seven games to secure the eighth and final league playoff spot. … They were also 7-2-0-1 in their last 10 outings. … The Storm wrapped up the campaign with a record of 22-26-1-3, going 10-15-0-1 at Jus Jordan Arena. … They had the sixth-best road record at 12-11-1-2. … Iroquois Falls tied for eighth in goals-scored (161) and were ninth overall in tallies given up (202). … Special teams saw them end up 11th on the P.P. (15.4%) and seventh on the P.K. (78.8%). … They did share fourth overall in shorthanded goals scored (8).
FORWARDS: Rookie Jordan Mayo impressed for the Storm in his initial Jr. A campaign. … Still just 16, Mayo led Iroquois Falls offensively with 51 points in 50 appearances while scoring 24 times and aiding on 27 others. … He capped off the regular season with points in seven straight outings, scoring six times and adding 11 assists in that span. … Of the eight teams that qualified for the postseason, Mayo was the only rookie to lead his team in offensive production. … Finishing tied for 18th in NOJHL scoring, his 12 power play markers were the third-most in the league of any player. … He topped all rookies in tallies (24); extra-man efforts (12) and game-winning goals (5). … His deciders led the Storm. … Mayo also finished third in points (51) among first-year players and was named the league’s BrokerLink Insurance Rookie of the Month for January. … Also coming up big for Iroquois Falls, when needed in the late going, was veteran Landon Trethewey. … Scoring five times and adding nine assists in his last seven contests, Trethewey helped get the Storm into the playoffs. … He was second on the squad in overall offensive numbers with 45 in 49 contests. … Collecting points in six straight to cap-off the regular season, Jack Jarvis scored in each of those affairs for the squad and was third on the team in overall scoring on 43 points in 49 times played.
DEFENCE: After joining Iroquois Falls in late November, John Adlys brought a calming influence to the club’s back-end. … While just 17, Adlys was clutch for the Storm in their late push to the postseason. … In his last eight contests, he scored four times and helped set-up nine others for a 13-point run and was one of the NOJHL’s BrokerLink Insurance 3 Stars of the Week for the period ending March 2. … His efforts helped him tie for the team-lead in scoring among defencemen. … He was joined by Martin Brusoe, as the duo had 18 points apiece. … Iroquois Falls also got contributions from rookie rearguard Tibor Nemeth (14 PTS).
GOALTENDERS: The Storm tandem of Justin Sullivan and Maverick Fletcher did their part, especially in the final couple of weeks of the campaign, to get them into the playoffs. … Sullivan was 4-0-1-0 in his last five starts, while going 7-12-3-1 overall with a 3.75 goals-against average and a save percentage of .907. … He was fifth in the league among rookies in both average and save mark. … As for Fletcher, he had a team-high 10 victories, as part of his 10-10-0-0 record. … He won each of his last two appearances and also posted the club’s lone shutout on the year, with a 30-stop performance in Blind River back on November 3 as past of a 2-0 victory.
UP NEXT: Should Greater Sudbury win the series, they would meet the lowest surviving seed in semifinal action.
If Iroquois Falls were to prevail, they would take on the highest remaining seed.
BROADCASTERS
CUBS: Thomas Mercier
STORM: Rick Witty
WHERE TO WATCH: All NOJHL playoff games can be streamed online via FLOHockey.tv.
