The GREATER SUDBURY CUBS inaugural season came to an end on Friday night when the Cubs battled the second-place Soo Eagles to stay alive but lost a close 3-2 heart-breaker in the sixth game of the best of seven quarter-final series. The Eagles will now advance to play the Soo Thunderbirds in the semi-finals.
Over 500 fans jammed the Countryside Arena to cheer-on the Cubs but it was the Eagles that scored first in held a 1-0 lead after one period. The Cubs showed some undiscipline in the second period and the Eagles capitalized with two power play goals within 30 seconds to take a commanding 3-0 lead after two periods of play.
The Cubs scored early in the third period when Billy Biedermann scored a beauty from the slot area on a great set-up by Pierson Sobush. The goal came at the 22 second mark. The Cubs narrowed the score to 3-2 when Captain Kyler Campbell scored with 6.5 minutes remaining in the game. The Cubs pulled their goaltender and went with an extra attacker over the final two minutes. The Cubs had some great looks to tie the contest but could not beat Eagles goaltender Ryan Gilmour. Gilmour was named the game’s 1st star with 38 saves.
The Cubs outshot the Eagles for the sixth game in a row firing 40 shots at Gilmour while Joel Rainville faced 35 shots from the Eagles. The power play was the difference-maker with the Eagles scoring twice on five power plays while the Cubs were 0 for 6 with the man advantage.
The Cubs held a final team meeting this morning at the Countryside Arena and a number of Cubs players received individual team awards including:
MVP – JOEL RAINVILLE
TOP SCORER – KYLER CAMPBELL
BEST DEFENCEMAN – SETH COULTER
TOP ROOKIES – BILLY BIEDERMANN & PIERSON SOBUSH
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – CAMERON SHANKS
TOP DEFENSIVE DEFENCEMAN – COLE QUEVILLON
HARDEST WORKER – CAMERON WALKER
BEST TWO-WAY FORWARD – JAXON BEDARD
MOST SPORTSMANLIKE – NICHOLAS FAUGHT
