saultsports SUDBURY, Ont. – The Greater Sudbury Cubs are gearing up to begin play at the Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, which gets underway this afternoon at the Max Bell Centre in Calgary, Alta.
Greater Sudbury’s initial contest in the 10-team event is Friday night as they take on the Grande Prairie Storm of the Alberta Junior Hockey League at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Here’s a look at the two-time Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League champion as they head into game action in their quest for a Canadian National Jr. A title.
HOW THEY ARRIVED: Greater Sudbury punched their ticket to Calgary after defeating the Hearst Lumberjacks in the NOJHL Final, which was a thrilling seven-game affair that went the distance.
Along with their triumph over the Lumberjacks, the Cubs also handled the Iroquois Falls Storm and the Soo Thunderbirds in a pair of four-game sweeps en route to the title.
PLAYOFF RECORD: 12-3 – SEASON RECORD: 44-6-1-1 (1st overall)
HEAD COACH: Darryl Moxam – Leading his side back to the Centennial Cup once again, Moxam was earlier named NOJHL Coach of the Year for his efforts behind the bench.
He is also a finalist for the prestigious Darcy Haugan/Mark Cross Memorial Award, presented by the NHL Coaches’ Association, emblematic of CJHL Coach of the Year.
In his playing days, Moxam captained the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats in 1996-97 to a NOJHL title; a Dudley-Hewitt Cup Central Canadian crown and a berth into the national Jr. A championship. His on-ice efforts during that season saw him amass 100 points and go on to be named the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Player of the Year.
THE CUBS: The Cubs boast 12 players on the squad that also competed in last year’s Centennial Cup in Oakville, Ont. … Greater Sudbury finished first in the NOJHL standings with a record of 44-6-1-1. … They were tabbed seventh in the final CJHL Top 20 Rankings, Fuelled by Gatorade. … In the playoffs, the Cubs went 12-3 overall on their way to a second straight Copeland Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy NOJHL championship. … They swept the Iroquois Falls Storm in four straight games in quarter-final action and did likewise to the Soo Thunderbirds in semifinal play, before needing a full seven games to get by the Hearst Lumberjacks in a hard-fought final. … Greater Sudbury had four of the six leading point-getters in the playoffs. … They’ve also had 12 different skaters collect at least five points. … The club has converted at a 37.9% rate on the power play in the playoffs, notching a league-best 25-man advantage markers in 66 opportunities. … In terms of penalty kill proficiency, the Cubs were at an 83.1% clip. … They also notched five shorthanded markers. … They were 2-0 in overtime in the 2025 playoffs. … Overall, they went 24-7 in their past 31 playoff contests. … Greater Sudbury scored first in 12 of their 15 playoff games. … The team was 10-0 when leading after one period of play and 12-1 after 40 minutes. … The entire Cubs’ roster consists of players from Ontario, including 16 who hail from the Greater Sudbury area.
FORWARDS: Led by playoff MVP, Cubs’ centre Lucas Signoretti was a force in the postseason. … He paced all league skaters in offensive production, collecting 36 points in 15 outings on a league-best 17 goals and 19 assists. … His four game-winning markers were also the most. … He had points in 14 of 15 games, including 11 multi-point efforts. … Collecting 101 points in the regular season, Signoretti earned a second straight NOJHL MVP award, thus becoming only the second player in league history to capture back-to-back MVP laurels and first to do so since the 1965-66 campaign. … Sitting third on the squad, and fourth overall in playoff numbers, was Daks Klinkhammer. … He wrapped up the postseason with 10 tallies and 14 helpers for 24 points. …Klinkhammer also finished up on an eight-game heater, scoring seven times and setting up eight more in that span. … Fourth on the Cubs and tied for fifth overall in NOJHL playoff numbers was Nolan Newton. … He had 22 points in total, featuring a game-high four in the finale versus Hearst. … With points in six straight to conclude the NOJHL playoffs, and in 10 of 11, Newton banged in nine markers, with three game-winners, and dished out 13 assists. … The trio of Noah Kohan (12 PTS); Samuel Assinewai (11 PTS), in just eight contests, and Ben Harris (10PTS) were also 10-plus point-men for the Cubs.
DEFENCE: Spencer Horgan led all NOJHL blueliners in scoring with 25 points, including 14 in the league finals. … In all he tallied five times and helped set-up 20 others … Horgan wrapped up the playoffs on an 11-game point streak and had at least one point in 13 of 14 postseason outings. … Michael MacLean was next on the squad from the backend with eight points. … William Haley followed him with five, while Alexandre Valade had four. … Team captain Mason Chitaroni was limited to three playoff games, due to injury, and had two points in that span.
GOALTENDERS: Karsen Chartier went 11-2 in the NOJHL playoffs with a 3.15 goals-against average and a save percentage of .909. … His two shutouts topped all league netminders in that department. … Noah Beaulne went 1-1 in his postseason appearances, sporting a 2.00 GAA and a save mark of .913.
CUBS’ NOJHL AWARD WINNERS
MVP / Playoff MVP / 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
THE OPPONENTS
Friday, May 9: Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL) 9:30 p.m. ET
Head coach: Chris Schmidt
Regular season record: 30-17-1-6 (6th overall)
Playoff record: 8-4
Grande Prairie picked up their spot in the by advancing to the Alberta Junior Hockey League Final against the Centennial Cup-host Calgary Canucks. … The Storm was swept in four games by the Canucks after they earlier posted playoff sweeps of the Lloydminster Bobcats and Whitecourt Wolverines. … Forward Max Leduc and defenceman Kaiden Bugera led the team in playoff scoring with 16 points apiece in a dozen outings. … Chayse Laurie (13); Tomis Marinkovic (12); Alec Hall (11) and Carter Streek (10) also supplied 10, or more, points up front for the Storm. … Netminder Nicholas Jones saw the bulk of the playoff action between the pipes for Grande Prairie, going 7-2 with a 3.44 goals-against average and a save percentage of .891.
Saturday, May 10: Northern Manitoba Blizzard (MJHL) 9:30 p.m. ET
Head coach: Éric Labrosse
Regular season record: 35-22-0-1 (6th overall)
Playoff record: 12-4
After finishing sixth overall in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League standings, the Blizzard found their stride in the playoffs. … They began by disposing of the Neepawa Titans in five games before sweeping the defending MJHL title holders, the Winkler Flyers, in four straight outings in semifinal action. … Then came a thrilling Game 7 triple overtime 2-1 victory on the road against the Dauphin Kings for The Pas, Man., based squad. … The Northern Manitoba forward trio of Marlen Edwards; Tyler Dahms and Quincy Supprien finished 1-2-3 in MJHL postseason scoring with 15; 15 and 13 points respectively. … Supprien led his league in game-winning goals, including the deciding tally in the third OT to give his side the championship. … Cheechoo Lathlin was their top point-getter on defence with eight points. … Goaltender Taye Timmermann was named Co-MJHL playoff MVP, boasting a league-best 12 wins along with a sharp 1.68 goals-against average and a solid .937 save percentage.
Monday, May 12: Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL) 6 p.m. ET
Head coach: Derek Smith
Regular season record: 47-6-2-1 (1st overall)
Playoff record: 16-4
Highly touted Trenton finished first overall in the 24-team Ontario Junior Hockey League standings and carried their solid play into the postseason. … Winning 16 times in the playoffs, the Golden Hawks collected series triumphs over the Pickering Panthers (4-1); Stouffville Spirit (4-1); Haliburton County Huskies (4-1) and the Milton Menace (4-2) who they defeated to claim the OJHL crown. … A well-balanced attack saw six different skaters reach double digits in playoff scoring. … Leading the way was forward Corbin Roach with 26 points on seven tallies and 19 helpers. … Next was Taeo Artichuk who had 21 points, including 11 goals, featuring four game-winners … The duo of Cooper Matthews and Thomas Kuipers were next with 18 points each. … Matthews’ dozen markers led his team. … A trio of defencemen, including former Cubs’ blueliner Kyloe Ellis had nine points apiece from the back-end. … The other two were Trevor McDowell and Jaxon Broda. … In net, Ryan Sanborn played every minute between the pipes for Trenton, going 16-5 with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage with two shutouts.
Wednesday, May 14: Kam River Fighting Walleye (SIJHL) 2 p.m.
Head coach: Larry Wintoneak
Regular season record: 36-13-1-0 (2nd overall)
Playoff record: 12-2
Making his third Centennial Cup appearance as a head coach, and first with the Walleye, Larry Wintoneak helped guide Kam River to the Bill Salonen Cup SIJHL title. … They began by sweeping the Ironwood Lumberjacks in the minimum four contests before doing the same to the rival Thunder Bay North Stars, that featured winning each of the final three games in overtime. … In the SIJHL championship series, the Walleye took down the top-seeded Dryden GM Ice Dogs in six games to earn their second trip to the Centennial Cup in three seasons. … Leading the way in offensive production for Kam River was former Hearst Lumberjacks forward Jett Mintenko. … He scored the game-winner in OT in their series-clinching wins over Thunder Bay and Dryden as part of his 17 total points. … Kaden Goodwin and Daxton Lang were next with 15 points apiece, while Carter Poddubny was right behind them with 14 points. … Edwin Liang led all Fighting Walleye defencemen in scoring with a dozen points. … Goalkeeper Ashton Sadauskas was stellar in backstopping his club to the title, with a 12-2 record along with a 1.77 GAA and a save mark of .935. He also posted a pair of shutouts.
The other five competing clubs at the Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, are:
Calgary Canucks (Host/AJHL); Melfort Mustangs (SJHL); Rockland Nationals (CCHL); Valleyfield Braves (LHJAAAQ) and the Edmundston Blizzard (MHL).
Featuring two of divisions of five, the top team in each group will earn a direct berth to the semifinals, which go Saturday, May 17.
The second and third place squads will meet in crossover quarter-final action, Friday, May 16.
On Sunday, May 18 Centennial Cup final will air on TSN at 7 p.m. ET.
All other contests will be streamed live on a pay-per-view basis via HNLive.ca.
CUBS CENTENNIAL CUP ROSTER
CENTENNIAL CUP SCHEDULE/GAME SUMMARIES
Photo credit: Caleigh Fera / Points North Media
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