saultsports SUDBURY, Ont. – A first-ever playoff meeting between the Greater Sudbury Cubs and Hearst Lumberjacks will determine the 2024-25 Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League champion.
The quest for the Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy begins Thursday evening at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury as the Cubs host the Lumberjacks in Game 1 at 7 p.m.
Here’s a look at the best-of-seven affair:
The Cubs are the defending NOJHL champions while the Lumberjacks last captured the league title back in 2019.
PLAYOFF RECORD
CUBS: 8-0
LUMBERJACKS: 8-1
SEASON RECORD
CUBS: 44-6-1-1 (1st overall)
LUMBERJACKS: 39-11-1-1 (2nd overall)
HOW THEY ARRIVED
CUBS: Greater Sudbury booked a return trip to the final after posting sweeps of the Iroquois Falls Storm and Soo Thunderbirds.
The Cubs have yet to trail at any point of the playoffs, through two rounds.
LUMBERJACKS: Hearst is back in the league championship series for the first time since 2022.
The Lumberjacks are a tidy 8-1 in the postseason after disposing of the Powassan Voodoos in the minimum four games prior to knocking off the Timmins Rock in five contests.
HEAD COACHES
CUBS: Darryl Moxam
LUMBERJACKS: Marc-Alain Bégin
HEAD-TO-HEAD: The two teams played five times during the course of the 2024-25 regular season, featuring one encounter at the NOJHL Showcase.
In all, it was Hearst who took the season set 3-2, including taking one in overtime. Three of the contests were decided by just one goal.
The Lumberjacks won both games at home and had another triumph in Sudbury. The Cubs came away victorious twice at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
The Lumberjacks outscored the Cubs 24-18 overall in the five meetings.
RESULTS
Sept. 13: @ Sudbury (6-2 Lumberjacks)
Sept. 20: @ Hearst (5-4 Lumberjacks OT)
Oct. 1: @ Sudbury (5-4 Cubs) (NOJHL Showcase)
Nov. 7: @ Hearst (6-3 Lumberjacks)
Jan. 16: @ Sudbury (4-3 Cubs)
LAST TIME: This will be the first-ever playoff meeting between the two sides.
SERIES SCHEDULE
NOJHL Final
No. 1 Greater Sudbury Cubs vs. No. 2 Hearst Lumberjacks
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Thursday, April 17 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 2: Friday, April 18 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 3: Tuesday, April 22 @ Hearst (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
Game 4: Wednesday, April 23 @ Hearst (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
Game 5*: Friday, April 25 @ Sudbury 7:30 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 6*: Monday, April 28 @ Hearst 7 p.m. (Claude Larose Recreation Centre)
Game 7*: Wednesday, April 30 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
*-if necessary
THE CUBS: Greater Sudbury has only lost once on home ice all season long. … That setback came all the way back on September 13 when they were taken down 6-2 by the Lumberjacks. … Since that time, they come away victorious in 28 straight contests, taking their final 24 at home in the regular season as well as being a perfect 4-0 in the playoffs. … The Cubs have scored 41 times so far in the postseason while only allowing a league-low 18 goals-against. … Five players have registered 10, or more points, in the playoffs while eight have five-plus. … They’ve also had 21 different skaters collect at least one point. … The club has converted at a 34.2% rate on the power play in the playoffs, notching a league-best 13-man advantage markers in 38 opportunities. … They have yet to allow a shorthanded goal. … The Cubs are tops in penalty kill proficiency at a crisp 91.9% clip. … They’ve handled 34 of the 37 times they’ve been down a man and have notched three shorthanded markers. … The team is an impressive 20-4 in their past two dozen playoff contests. … Greater Sudbury has scored first in all eight of their playoff games. Over half of the Cubs’ postseason markers have come in the first period. … They’ve outscored their opponents 22-3 in the opening 20 minutes of play.
FORWARDS: Averaging three points-per-game in the postseason, two-time NOJHL MVP Lucas Signoretti has been an offensive force for Greater Sudbury. … He leads the league in goals (12); assists (12); points (24) and is tied for top spot in game-winners (2). … He enters the final with points in each of his first eight playoff contests, highlighted by seven multi-point affairs. … His six-point effort in the series opener against the Soo Thunderbirds tied a team record for most in a single postseason game. … Dating back to his time with Espanola, Signoretti has points in each of his past 16 playoff games, amassing 35 in total during that span. … His three shorthanded markers are second in the NOJHL. … Next on the team in scoring, and tied for sixth overall, is Nolan Newton. … He has tallied six times and helped set-up five others for 11 points. … Newton has a pair of game-winning goals and a couple on the power play. … The duo of Samuel Assinewai (5G-5A) and Daks Klinkhammer (4G-6A) are next among forwards on the squad with 10 points apiece. Each of Mason Walker’s three playoff tallies have come on the power play, which paces all league players.
DEFENCE: Spencer Horgan leads the Cubs in scoring by blueliners. … He has 11 points on two markers and nine helpers. … That places him second overall among league rearguards. … Horgan’s assist totals tie him for the NOJHL lead by defencemen. … His six power play points pace all D-men. … Michael MacLean is next on the squad from the back-end with four points. … William Haley follows him with three, while team captain Mason Chitaroni, who has only dressed for three contests due to injury, and Brady Bouchard have two points each.
GOALTENDERS: Karsen Chartier is a perfect 7-0 in the NOJHL playoffs to date with a 2.19 goals-against average and a save percentage of .922. … His two shutouts top all league netminders in that department. … Noah Beaulne won his lone start of the playoffs and sports a 2.00 GAA and a save mark of .923.
THE LUMBERJACKS: A well-balanced attack has seen 13 different Hearst players pick-up at least five points in the playoffs heading into the final. … The same number of Lumberjacks’ skaters have scored a minimum of two goals. … Hearst tops all teams in playoff tallies with 47, having averaged 5.22 goals-per-game so far. … They’ve given-up 24 against through nine match-ups. … The Lumberjacks are unbeaten at home, with five victories to their credit in as many outings. … They’ve gone 3-1 on the road. … Converting at a 31.8% clip on the power play, the club has scored seven times on 22-man advantage opportunities. … An offensive force on the P.K., Hearst hammered in a league-best six shorthanded goals in their series triumph over Timmins. … Overall, they are at 84.8%, having handled 28 of the 33 times they’ve been down a skater. … When scoring first in the playoffs, Hearst is 4-1. … They are 6-0 when leading after two periods of play.
FORWARDS: Hearst sports three forwards in the top six in overall playoff scoring. … Leading that group is DonHeaven Veilleux. … He sits second in the NOJHL with 16 points on eight goals and as many assists. … His tally total is second in the league as well. … Veteran Tyler Patterson is currently on a NOJHL-best nine-game point streak. … He has scored seven times and helped set-up five others for Hearst so far in the postseason. … He also has points in 14 of his past 15 playoff outings, dating back to 2023. … Patterson enters the final tied for fourth in NOJHL scoring. … Right behind him in offensive numbers is Mathieu Comeau. … Coming in after setting a franchise-record with four shorthanded goals in the series win over the Rock, Comeau has 11 points through nine games. … Each of his tallies have come with his side down a skater. … Comeau shares sixth in league playoff points and enters the final on an eight-game point streak. … Four other forwards, in Henry Ouellet (9PTS); Chase Thompson (8PTS); Bronson Babyak (8PTS) and Aiden Kalin (7PTS) have also contributed nicely up front for Hearst.
DEFENCE: Lumberjacks’ captain Adam Shillinglaw leads the club and all NOJHL defencemen in scoring. … Through nine games, he’s picked up 12 points on three goals and nine assists. … Shillinglaw is also tied for fourth in offensive numbers among all players. … William Pâquet is next on the squad in D-men points with seven. … He has notched three tallies and dished out four helpers. … That ties him for fourth among NOJHL rearguards. … Afer that there is Brayden Hindman, who has six points. … He scored twice and chipped in with four assists to sit tied for sixth in numbers from the back-end. … The duo of Jean-Pierre Audras and Cole Miller have also done their part at both ends of the ice with five points each. … Miller shares second spot in scoring by rookie defencemen.
GOALTENDERS: Netminder Alexandre Boivin has played every minute for Hearst in the playoffs so far. … With that, he’s gone 8-1 with a 2.53 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage and one shutout. … Boivin leads all netminders in victories with his eight wins. … Back-up Owen Bonthuis has yet to see any action in the playoffs.
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
LUMBERJACKS
Best Defenceman: Adam Shillinglaw
Top Defensive Forward: Bronson Babyak
Best Overall Team Player: Mathieu Comeau
1st All-Star Team – Defence: Adam Shillinglaw
2nd All-Star Team – Forward: Tyler Patterson
2nd All-Star Team – Forward: Mathieu Comeau
2nd All-Star Team – Coach: Marc-Alain Bégin
3rd All-Star Team – Goaltender: Alexandre Boivin
3rd All-Star Team – Forward: Aiden Kalin
1st All-Rookie Team – Goaltender: Alexandre Boivin
UP NEXT: Awaiting the winner of the NOJHL Final will be a berth to the Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, May 8-18 at the Max Bell Centre in Calgary, Alta.
BROADCASTERS
CUBS: Thomas Mercier
LUMBERJACKS: Denis J. Puska & Martin Grenier
WHERE TO WATCH: All NOJHL playoff games can be streamed online via FLOHockey.tv.
PHOTO CREDIT: Northern Lights Photography
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