NOJHL Showcase Roundup
Two days of the annual Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League showcase event featured all 11 NOJHL teams plus St. Andrew’s College of Aurora as a guest entry. All teams played two games in Sudbury in front of not only fans and supporters but a host of scouts and recruiters from various levels of the game, including the National Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League, not to mention Canadian and American schools.
So, kudos to NOJHL commissioner Rob Mazzuca and those who assisted in putting on showcase event involving all league teams at one venue.
Following is a run down of the 12 games.
Espanola 5, French River 4. A goal by 2009 birth year rookie sensation forward Owen Smith — a 2025 Ontario Hockey League priority selections draft pick of the North Bay Battalion — stood as the game winner as the Paper Kings shrugged off a late flow by the Rapids to begin the two day showcase with a narrow triumph.
Iroquois Falls 4, Kirkland Lake 3. A dramatic Lucas Willoughby penalty shot goal 43 seconds into overtime lifted the Storm to a 4-3 come from behind victory over the Gold Miners.
Timmins 6, Hearst 0. Riding the shutout goaltending of 2009 birth year rookie Ayden Mullen, the Rock got goals from six different skaters en route to a resounding 6-0 blanking of the Lumberjacks.
Soo Eagles 6, Blind River 1. Anden Marceau netted two goals and added two assists and Coulson Bell scored once and set up two others as the Eagles upended the Beavers for their first win of the ’25-26 season.
Powassan 4, St. Andrew’s College 3. Shrugging off a two goal deficit early in the third period, the Voodoos vroomed back to clip the nip the guest entry Saints by a 4-3 score.
Sudbury 4, Soo Thunderbirds 2. Nolan Newton had a goal and an assist — including the game winning tally — as the two time reigning champion Cubs clipped the Thunderbirds to end Day 1 of the event.
Soo Eagles 8, Hearst 3. Anden Marceau scored two more goals — giving him 13 on the season in just 11 games — and the Eagles began day two of the showcase with their second straight win of the showcase — and the season — this time over the Lumberjacks.
Soo Thunderbirds 3, Blind River 1. A goal by Aiden Atkinson early in the third period proved to be the game winner as the Thunderbirds skated past the Beavers by a 3-1 margin.
St. Andrews 3, Timmins 2. The guest entry from Aurora got goals from three different players to squeak past the Rock.
French River 6, Iroquois Falls 2. Michael Morascyzk netted a pair of goal to spark the Rapids to a no doubt victory over the Storm.
Espanola 3, Kirkland Lake 2. The Paper Kings made it a second successive one goal win at the showcase. An early third period goal by Cameron Menard was the winner in the win over the Gold Miners.
Powassan 6, Sudbury 2. Caleb Dawson clicked for a pair of goals as the Voodoos cuffed the Cubs by a 6-2 margin to end the showcase.
