Photos: Caleigh Fera – Points North Media
SUDBURY, Ont. – A Nolan Newton power play marker 13:54 into the second period proved to be the eventual game-winner as the Greater Sudbury Cubs went on to double up the Soo Thunderbirds 4-2 Tuesday night in the final contest of Day 1 play at the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League Showcase being held at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
Greater Sudbury got the game’s first goal while shorthanded when Kaedyn Long chipped a play ahead, then raced down the left wing where he fired a shot that was stopped by Sault Ste. Marie starter Ryan Hicks, but Caden Dubreuil jumped in to shovel a backhand into the net at 8:34 of the first frame.
The Thunderbirds had a quality chance to knot the affair early in the second stanza, but Drew Christian was denied by Cubs’ goaltender Mateo Beites.
Greater Sudbury countered right after that and went up by two when Tyson Rismond took a crisp cross-ice pass from Newton and ripped it past a screened Hicks at 1:29.
Trimming the deficit in half, Adam Pszeniczny put the T-Birds on the board past the midway mark of the match-up as he forced a turnover down low before eventually lifting in a second chance from in close.
Going back up by a pair a couple of shifts later on the man advantage, the Cubs controlled the draw which led to Newton slamming in the rebound off a Rismond point blast.
Converting on a late five-on-three, Deven Jones-McDonald made it a 3-2 game after 40 minutes when he took a down-low pass from Frankie Reda and heaved it past Beites at 19:14.
Heading to the third, Greater Sudbury clicked on another power play thanks to Daks Klinkhammer finishing off a loose puck laying at the top of the crease, eight minutes in.
Pulling Hicks with 2:33 to go for an additional skater, the Soo looked to move closer, but the Cubs did their part defensively to close out the victory.
Picking up player of the game honours were Rismond and Hicks.
Day 2 of the NOJHL Showcase features six more contests on the docket Wednesday beginning with the Hearst Lumberjacks taking on the Soo Eagles at 11:15 a.m. back in Sudbury and on FLOHockey.tv
