Cubs turn double play
Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League have yet to win a championship in 50 plus years of existence. But across town, the Sudbury Cubs of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League have now won back to back championships.
Sudbury’s more successful junior hockey team turned the double play in the seventh and deciding game of this year’s NOJHL championship series with a hard earned 6-4 win over the visiting Hearst Lumberjacks. The decisive match was played before another big crowd of more than 1,100 fans at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
The Cubs, who finished first during the NOJHL regular season with 90 points from a record of 44-6-2, went 12-3 during this spring’s playoffs to win the league trophy for the second successive year. Their winning ways is something that their neighbouring Wolves of the OHL can only fantasize about.
Prior to upending Hearst to win their second straight NOJHL championship, the Cubs had a rather easy time through the first two rounds of the playoffs as they ousted both the Iroquois Falls Storm and the Soo Thunderbirds in four straight games for a perfect 8-0 record.
To the surprise of virtually no one, regular season scoring champion Lucas Signoretti was the offensive firecracker for the Cubs on their 15 game playoff run to NOJHL glory.
Signoretti, a 5 foot 6 mini mite who had 46 goals, 55 assists, 101 points in 50 regular season games, kept up that torrid pace in the playoffs. In 15 playoff matches, the 2004 birth year forward was again the points leader with 17 goals and 19 assists. All together, regular season and playoffs included, Signoretti — who began his spectacular three year NOJHL career with the Espanola Paper Kings before being acquired by Sudbury last summer — put up mind boggling totals of 63 goals, 74 assists, 137 points in 65 games for the Cubs over the course of the ’24-25 campaign.
Not that Signoretti was the only impact player for head coach Darryl Moxam’s Cubs during this spring’s 15 game NOJHL playoff package. Others who put up big numbers were defenseman Spencer Horgan — also formerly of the Espanola Paper Kings — with five goals, 20 assists, 25 points, Daks Klinkhammer with 10-14-24 numbers and Nolan Newton with 9-13-22 totals.
The Cubs will represent the NOJHL at the annual Centennial Cup national championship tournament, which is slated for May 8-18 in Calgary, Alberta.
Nice!!!
Great showing by Hearst to take them to game 7 hopefully the Cubs represent the NOJHL well in Calgary.
Nice, congrats to the Cubs.