saultsports SUDBURY, Ont. – Storied rivals for many years in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, teams from Greater Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie have met in the postseason on multiple occasions over its tenure.
Their latest playoff installment begins this evening with Game 1 of their semifinal series that features a 7 p.m. start at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
The Cubs are the defending Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy league champions while the Thunderbirds have won the NOJHL title on five occasions since 2009.
Here’s a look at the two teams taking part in the series:
PLAYOFF RECORD
CUBS: 4-0
THUNDERBIRDS: 4-3
SEASON RECORD
CUBS: 44-6-1-1 (1st overall)
THUNDERBIRDS: 26-23-1-2 (6th overall)
HOW THEY ARRIVED
CUBS: While Greater Sudbury’s opening round match-up with the Iroquois Falls went the minimum they were given a stern test by the Iroquois Falls Storm.
This was especially so in the final three contests that saw two decided by just one goal, including once in overtime, and a hard-fought finale that ended up 2-0.
THUNDERBIRDS: Needing a full seven games, Sault Ste. Marie eventually prevailed over the Blind River Beavers.
The Thunderbirds went 2-1 on the road as well as at home to take the series 4-3, backed by a 6-3 Game 7 victory in Blind River on Monday.
HEAD COACHES
CUBS: Darryl Moxam
THUNDERBIRDS: Jamie Henderson
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Very even in their four regular season contests, it was Greater Sudbury who held a narrow edge of 2-1-1.
They played to an entertaining 4-4 overtime tie in the season opener back in September before the Cubs collected a pair of one-goal triumphs, including an OT outcome, in November.
Sault Ste. Marie won their final meeting, which was in mid-February.
In all, each team scored 14 times in the season-set.
RESULTS:
Sept. 12: @ Sudbury (4-4 OT Tie)
Nov. 14: @ Sudbury (3-2 Cubs)
Nov. 17: @ Soo (5-4 Cubs OT)
Feb. 15: @ Soo (4-2 Thunderbirds)
LAST TIME: It was just last year when the Cubs and Thunderbirds previously met in postseason competition.
That was a first-round West Division match-up in March of 2024.
There, Greater Sudbury prevailed 4-2 in the best-of-seven, taking the final three outings to win the series.
That was highlighted by back-to-back shutouts to close it out by Cubs’ netminder Noah Metivier, who returned to Sault Ste. Marie this season to close out his Jr. A career.
SERIES SCHEDULE
NOJHL semifinal
No. 1 Greater Sudbury Cubs vs. No. 6 Soo Thunderbirds
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Thursday, April 3 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 2: Friday, April 4 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 3: Monday, April 7 @ Soo 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 4: Wednesday, April 9 @ Soo 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 5*: Thursday, April 10 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 6*: Sunday, April 13 @ Soo 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 7*: Tuesday, April 15 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
*-if necessary
THE CUBS: Averaging just under five goals-a-game in their series victory over Iroquois Falls, Greater Sudbury notched 19 in total. … That was the least of the four remaining sides still in contention. … The Cubs however allowed the fewest against, giving up just nine. … 14 players had at least one point in the match-ups with the Storm, while 10 were in double digits. … They also had eight different skaters supply tallies. … They clicked at a 26.1% rate on the power play, which placed them fifth overall. … In all they scored six times in the 23 times they were on a man advantage. … A league-best 90% rate led the way in penalty kill proficiency. … Of the 20 times they were down a player, they handled 18 of them and were one of two teams to notch a shorthanded marker. … In their past 20 playoff games, the Cubs boast a record of 16-4.
FORWARDS: Pacing the NOJHL offensively in Round 1 was Cubs’ standout centre Lucas Signoretti. … The NOJHL MVP led all skaters in both goals and points with seven and 11 respectively. … Dating back to last season, Signoretti has scored in five straight playoff outings. … Since the 2023 postseason, Signoretti has at least one point in each of his past 12 contests, which includes his time with the Espanola Paper Kings. … In 2025, he’s currently tied for the league-lead in game-winning markers with two. … The tandem of Samuel Assinewai and Daks Klinkhammer are next on the squad with six points apiece. … Assinewai also scored in all four games of the Iroquois Falls series. … They are followed by Nolan Newton with five points.
DEFENCE: Spencer Horgan has topped the team in scoring among defencemen so far in the postseason. … He has four points in as many games. … William Haley is next with a trio of assists to his credit. … Greater Sudbury captain Mason Chitaroni and towering six-foot-five blueliner Michael MacLean picked up two helpers each.
GOALTENDERS: Leading all NOJHL netminders in goals-against average (2.08), Karsen Chartier also shares top spot in playoff victories (4). … His save percentage (.928) puts him into a tie for fifth among league goaltenders. … He is also knotted for first in shutouts (1). … Veteran netminder Noah Beaulne did not see any game action against Iroquois Falls.
THE THUNDERBIRDS: In the past 15 seasons of on-ice play, no team has had more success in the postseason than the Soo Thunderbirds. … In that span the Thunderbirds have won five NOJHL championships. … Sault Ste. Marie scored 23 times in their seven-game triumph over Blind River, which was the second-highest total in the quarter-finals. … They gave up the fourth fewest against at 17. … Clicking at a 20% clip on the power play, the Soo sits seventh overall in that category. … They only had 10 man-advantage chances and tallied twice. … They were also seventh on the penalty kill at just 58.3%, giving up five man-down efforts. … 19 different players on the Thunderbirds playoff roster collected at least one point in the series triumph over the Beavers, to pace all playoff teams.
FORWARDS: Led by second-year man James Legler, he powered the Soo in their series win against the Beavers. … Legler picked up 10 points on three goals and seven assists. … His helper numbers tie him for the most by all NOJHL players through the quarter-finals. … Next are the trio of Callum McAuley as well as rookies James Elliot and Deven Jones-McDonald, who all performed well versus Blind River. … They collected six points each. … Elliot and Jones-McDonald are tied for third in scoring by first-year players. … Another rookie, in Aiden Atkinson, is right behind them with five points.
DEFENCE: The duo of Carter Carriere and Declan Gallivan presently pace the T-Birds offensively from the back-end. … The have four points each, having both scored once and adding three assists. … Following them is Matteo Moretta who had a goal and set-up one more. … The Soo joined Hearst as the only two teams in the first round to get goals from three different defencemen.
GOALTENDERS: A clutch postseason performer, Noah Metivier has shown why he is a two-time NOJHL Playoff MVP. … Metivier’s 28 career playoff victories in the league are equally impressive. … Backstopping the Thunderbirds to their series triumph over Blind River, he played the most minutes of any NOJHL netminder in Round 1 at 397. … Metivier sits third in goals-against average (2.44) and fourth in save percentage (.925). … He also shares the league lead in wins (4) and shutouts (1). … The T-Birds other goalkeeper, Lincoln Mellenthin, saw 33 minutes of action in relief versus Blind River. … In that time he had a goals-against average of 1.80, along with a .923 save mark, stopping 12 of the 13 shots he faced.
NOJHL AWARD WINNERS
CUBS
MVP: Lucas Signoretti
Scoring Champion: Lucas Signoretti
Team Goaltending Award: Greater Sudbury Cubs
Coach of the Year: Darryl Moxam
Regular Season Champions: Greater Sudbury Cubs
1st Team All-Star – Defence: Mason Chitaroni
1st Team All-Star – Forward: Lucas Signoretti
1st Team All-Star – Forward: Samuel Assinewai
1st Team All-Star – Coach: Darryl Moxam
3rd Team All-Star – Trainer/Equipment Manager: Chris Seguin
2nd All-Rookie Team – Defence: Alexandre Valade
2nd All-Rookie Team – Forward: Mason Walker
THUNDERBIRDS
3rd Team All-Star – Defence: Bryan Fenlon
NOJHL Broadcasters of the Year: Anthony Valade & Dominic Turco
UP NEXT: Awaiting the winner of this series will be a berth in the NOJHL Final for the Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy, which is slated to run between April 17-29.
There, they’ll take on either the Hearst Lumberjacks or Timmins Rock.
The league champion will then advance to represent the NOJHL at the Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, May 8-18 at the Max Bell Centre in Calgary, Alta.
BROADCASTERS
CUBS: Thomas Mercier
THUNDERBIRDS: Anthony Valade & Dominic Turco
WHERE TO WATCH: All NOJHL playoff games can be streamed online via FLOHockey.tv.
Photo credit: Caleigh Fera / Points North Media
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