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Photos: Caleigh Fera – Points North Media
SUDBURY, Ont. – Riding the strength of a six-point night from Lucas Signoretti, the Greater Sudbury Cubs stormed out to a big lead and went on the down the Soo Thunderbirds 7-4 Thursday evening in the opener of their Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League semifinal at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
A crafty play by Signoretti generated the first marker of the series, nearly eight and a half minutes into the match-up.
On it, he pushed a play ahead off a face-off deep in Sault Ste. Marie territory, then stepped around the opposing centre and fired a feed to the top of the crease that was quickly lifted in by Nolan Newton on Thunderbirds’ starter Lincoln Mellenthin.
Adding another midway through the opening frame, Signoretti pressured a turnover and set-up Daks Klinkhammer between the circles who sent a low shot into the left corner for his second marker of the playoffs.
Going to work on the power play, the Cubs made it 3-0 at 14:29 and saw Signoretti collect his third point of the period as he sent a cross-ice pass over to Mason Walker, who used a Soo defender as a screen and snapped a shot past the glove of Mellenthin from the left circle.
Banging in another on a man advantage Klinkhammer notched another by chipping in a chance in front.
Continuing the onslaught, Greater Sudbury extended their big lead into the intermission after another Thunderbirds’ giveaway saw Noah Kohan lift a backhand over a sprawled Mellenthin at 19:46.
Getting one back in the first minute of the second stanza, the T-Birds won a draw that led to Aiden Atkinson pumping in a rebound off a Matteo Moretta point shot past Cubs’ goalkeeper Karsen Chartier.
Getting that back, Signoretti registered his fifth point at 5:59, as he took a pass from behind the net from Ben Harris and ripped it over the blocker of Mellenthin on a delayed penalty.
The Soo got another half-way through the match-up off the stick of Ryan Daze as he raced in alone on a breakaway and wired a wrister past Chartier.
Pulling to within three on an extended power play, Callum McAuley collected the rebound off his own initial shot and slammed it into the open side at 14:27.
Matching that while shorthanded, the Signoretti show continued as Klinkhammer sent him in on Mellenthin where he made no mistake for his NOJHL-leading ninth of the playoffs.
The visitors went on to add one more as Moretta cruised in from up top and sent a short-side sizzler past Chartier in the back half of the third to round out the night’s scoring in a chippy final frame.
The six-point performance by Signoretti matches a Cubs’ team record for the most in a single playoff game, matching the half-dozen Newton had last season in an April 9 playoff affair against Blind River.
Game 2 goes Friday back in Sudbury as 7 p.m.
NOJHL semifinal
No. 1 Greater Sudbury Cubs vs. No. 6 Soo Thunderbirds
Cubs lead best-of-seven series 1-0
Game 1: Cubs 7 Thunderbirds 4
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
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