Photos: Rob Fera – Points North Media
SUDBURY, Ont. – Backed by a six-assist night from Mason Walker, the Greater Sudbury Cubs went on to defeat the Timmins Rock 9-3 Thursday in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
Converting on an early power play, Timmins did click just 42 seconds in as Diego Da Silva cranked a blast off a cross-ice feed from Brady Bouchard that flew high over the blocker of Greater Sudbury goaltender Iain Wintle.
With the tally, it put a quick end to a recent run of the Cubs’ not allowing a goal at just over 169 minutes.
Matching that, defenceman Tyson Rismond drew the hosts level as he took a pass back to the point from Walker and worked his way down the slot where he wired a shot off the post and in that eluded Rock starter Ayden Mullen.
Up a skater themselves, Nolan Newton gave the home side the lead at 4:09 by whipping one through Mullen while gliding into the left circle for his 37th of the season.
That also saw Newton extend a current league-best point streak to 16.
More from Greater Sudbury near the midway mark of the first period had them counter in transition that led to Walker’s third assist of the session as he fed Owen King going down the middle where he snapped in his 34th of the campaign.
Tacking on one more before the first intermission, off another Walker helper, allowed Newton to work the puck to Grant Booth in the crease that he took to his right and tucked in.
A man advantage moments in the middle stanza saw the score go to 5-1 when Caden Dubreuil chipped one into the net from close range.
More special teams contributions extended the cushion when Greater Sudbury’s Spencer Horgan sent an attempt from between the circles that hit off Daks Klinkhammer parked in front and bounced right to King who pumped in his second of the evening into the open side.
That resulted in a goaltending change for the Rock as Virgil Sausset-Plateaux entered in long relief.
Timmins got one back while up a skater themselves at 9:03 thanks to Maxfeld Shin finishing off a crisp passing play with Matteo Paradiso and Matthew Kim.
Pulling to within three in the opening minutes if the third, Paradiso scooped up a draw won by Shin and ripped it over the glove of Wintle.
Countering, Klinkhammer lifted one through a screen that got past a blocked-out Sausset-Plateaux.
Greater Sudbury that wrapped up the result off a rush up-ice led by Noah Kohan and saw him put a pass over to Eidan Macartney that he zipped into the top left-hand corner before Horgan got one on a late power play to finish it off.
With the victory, the Cubs win for a fifth straight time this month; move to 12-0-1-0 in 2026 as well as 22-0-1-2 since mid-November and 35-6-2-2 overall.
With the loss, Timmins has now gone 0-4-0-2 in their past six in dropping to 30-12-0-3 on the campaign.
