Greater Sudbury Cubs Push Hearst Lumberjacks to the Brink with Dominant Game Four Victory -

Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos

Facing pressure to rebound after a tough 6-1 loss in Game Three and trailing 2-1 in the NOJHL Copeland McNamara Cup final, the Hearst Lumberjacks hoped to turn the tide in Game Four on home ice. But it was the visiting Greater Sudbury Cubs who continued their commanding play, skating to a 5-1 win and taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven championship series.

The Cubs wasted no time quieting the home crowd at Claude Larose Arena. Just 4:30 into the first period, with Hearst goaltender Alexandre Boivin caught out of position, Daks Klinkhammer buried a slick pass to open the scoring. Lucas Signoretti and Ben Harris picked up assists on Klinkhammer’s fifth goal of the playoffs.

Sudbury doubled their lead later in the period at 13:03. With Boivin down in his crease, Lucas Signoretti jumped on a loose puck near the left post and roofed it over the sprawling netminder for his 16th of the postseason. Spencer Horgan and Nate Lazarus added helpers on the goal that made it 2-0.

The Cubs kept the pressure on in the third period. Just seven seconds into a powerplay, Nolan Newton sniped a shot from the right faceoff circle over Boivin’s glove to extend the lead to 3-0 at the 7:50 mark. Nick Kohan and Klinkhammer recorded the assists on Newton’s ninth of the playoffs.

Less than two minutes later, Sudbury struck again with the man advantage. Kohan fed a pass from the left corner that Klinkhammer redirected in front for his sixth of the postseason, making it 4-0 at 9:37. Newton also earned a point on the play.

The highlight of the night came just 43 seconds later while the Cubs were shorthanded. Despite being pinned to the ice in the left circle, Signoretti managed to dish a pass from his stomach to Eidan Macartney, who was wide open in the slot. Macartney made no mistake, scoring his first of the playoffs to chase Boivin from the net in favor of backup Owen Bonthuis.

Hearst finally broke through on a 5-on-3 advantage at 10:49. DonHeaven Veilleux sent a cross-ice feed from the right circle to Henry Ouellet, who wired a wrist shot over Karsen Chartier’s glove. Mathieu Comeau added a secondary assist on Ouellet’s fifth of the playoffs.

Despite the late goal, it was another dominant outing for Chartier, who turned aside 44 of 45 shots to backstop Sudbury to a 5-1 win. Boivin and Bonthuis combined for 28 saves on 33 shots in the loss for Hearst.

With the win, the Cubs move within one victory of capturing their second straight NOJHL Copeland McNamara Cup. Game Five heads back to Sudbury on Friday, April 25th, where the Cubs will look to close out the series in front of their home crowd. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.