SUDBURY, Ont. – The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) semifinal affair between the No.1 seeded Greater Sudbury Cubs and the No. 7 Soo Eagles begins Thursday at T.M. Davies Arena in Lively.
Both clubs are coming off quarter-final sweeps as the Cubs downed the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners in four straight outings while the Eagles did likewise, in upsetting the Powassan Voodoos in the minimum number of contests.
Here’s a look at the two teams heading into the series.
RECORDS
Playoffs
Cubs: 4-0
Eagles: 4-0
Regular season
Cubs: 39-8-3-2 (1st overall)
Eagles: 23-26-2-1 (7th overall)
HEAD COACHES
Cubs: Darryl Moxam
Eagles: Jeremy Rebek
HEAD-TO-HEAD: It was the Cubs who claimed the season set against the Eagles, taking both games at home and splitting a pair on contests on the road at Pullar Stadium.
In all, Greater Sudbury outscored Sault Ste. Marie by a margin of 17-9.
RESULTS
Oct. 17: @ Soo (Cubs 4, Eagles 2)
Nov. 8: @ Soo (Eagles 4, Cubs 1)
Dec. 4: @ Sudbury (Cubs 6, Eagles 1)
March 12: @ Sudbury (Cubs 6, Eagles 2)
SERIES SCHEDULE
No. 1 Greater Sudbury Cubs vs. No. 7 Soo Eagles
Best-of-seven series
Game 1: Thursday, April 2 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (T.M. Davies Arena)
Game 2: Friday, April 3 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (T.M. Davies Arena)
Game 3: Monday, April 6 @ Soo 7 p.m. (Pullar Stadium)
Game 4: Tuesday, April 7 @ Soo 7 p.m. (Pullar Stadium)
Game 5*: Thursday, April 9 @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 6*: Saturday, April 11 @ Soo 7 p.m. (Pullar Stadium)
Game 7*: T.B.A. @ Sudbury 7 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
*-if necessary
THE CUBS
Playoffs: As mentioned, Greater Sudbury took care of Kirkland Lake in the opening round, with three of the match-ups being one-sided. … They outscored the Gold Miners 27-6 overall. … The Cubs were a league-best 37.5% on the power play, scoring nine times in 24-man advantage opportunities. … They were third on the penalty kill at 84.6% and had a pair of shorthanded tallies. … Greater Sudbury won all three times when they scored first and picked up a victory in the lone game, they gave up the first goal. … They never lost when leading after both the first and second periods and outshot Kirkland Lake in all four games.
Regular season: Greater Sudbury led the NOJHL in goals scored during the 2025-26 campaign with 298 and allowed the fewest-against, giving up just 124. … They also placed four players in the Top 10 in league scoring and five in the Top 15. … Tabbed seventh nationally in the final CJHL Rankings – Fuelled by Gatorade, the Cubs finished first in the NOJHL standings on 83 points with a league-best record of 39-8-3-2. … They also led the way playing on home ice going 21-3-1-1 and were also tops on the road, sporting a 18-5-2-1 mark. … They went 7-2-1-0 down the stretch. … Clicking at an impressive 38.5% clip on the power play, they led the way in that department. … Greater Sudbury was second overall on the penalty kill at 83.3%. … The Cubs were the runaway leader in man advantage markers with 97 and were also first in shorthanded tallies with 19. … When scoring first, the team went 27-5-1. … Having the lead after the first period saw them go 30-2-1-0 and they were even better through 40 minutes at 34-2-0-0.
FORWARDS
Playoffs: Briir Long led the Cubs in scoring in Round 1, collecting a dozen points, pacing the team in tallies and assists with four and eight respectively. … That ties him for third currently in NOJHL playoff scoring. … Next on the squad, sharing fifth in postseason numbers is Mason Walker. … He has two goals and seven helpers to his credit. … Also in the Top 10, among forwards, was captain Daks Klinkhammer. … He notched a trio of markers and aided on four others.
Regular season: Despite missing the final three game due to injury, highly touted centre Nolan Newton still led the team in scoring on the campaign with 91 points in 45 outings, including picking up 37 tallies, which were the third-most in the league. … Newton was second overall in NOJHL offensive numbers. … Close behind him was crafty winger Mason Walker. … He totalled career single-season bests in goals (33); assists (55) and points (88) in finishing third in league scoring. … Goal-scoring machine Owen King pumped in 44 markers for the Cubs, to finish second overall among all league skaters, and helped set-up 30 others for 74 points. … King led the league in power play tallies with 21, while Walker sat second at 15. … Walker’s eight game-winners shared the NOJHL lead in that department, with Newton holding down sixth in the category with six of his own. … That trio combined for 119 power play points. … Greater Sudbury captain Daks Klinkhammer was well over a point-per-game man with 65 in 45 outings. … Eidan Macartney’s seven shorthanded points tied him for top spot in the league.
DEFENCE
Playoffs: Tied for first in scoring by a blueliner was Spencer Horgan. … The NOJHL’s Top Defenceman award recipient scored twice and dished out five assists in the series win over Kirkland Lake. … Sitting tied for seventh overall by a D-man is Tyson Rismond. … He had three helpers. … You also had Alex Valade who scored once and set-up another from the back end.
Regular season: Record-setting defenceman Spencer Horgan had another tremendous year on the back end for the Cubs. … He led all NOJHL blueliners in scoring with 72 points, which also placed him 10th overall among all league skaters. … Horgan notched 19 markers, including 10 via the man advantage, and assisted on 53 others. … He is the all-time leading point getter in the NOJHL by a defenceman with 228. … Second-year D-man Alex Valade was next in numbers from the blueline as he established personal single-season bests in goals (10); assists (29) & points (39) to place him seventh in the NOJHL by defencemen. … Four of his tallies came on the power play. … Among the other 20-plus point men by the Cubs D were Tyson Rismond (28); Jacob Signoretti (25); Nate Laarus (23) and Kyle Navarro (23).
GOALTENDERS
Playoffs: Iain Wintle won all three of his starts in the first round. … He currently tops all league netminders in both goals-against average (1.00) and save percentage (.964). … Matthew Vahramian also picked up a victory in his lone appearance versus the Gold Miners with a 3.00 GAA and .903 save mark.
Regular season: Veteran Cubs’ netminder Matthew Vahramian tied for the NOJHL-lead in goals-against average at 2.14 while sporting a 19-6-1-0 overall record. … His win total was the second highest in the league and he sat sixth in save percentage at .915, with two shutouts. … Since joining Greater Sudbury in early December, Iain Wintle went unbeaten in regulation time, going 9-0-1-2 in 14 overall appearances. … He also had a 2.28 GAA along with a save mark of .910 and posted a pair of shutouts.
AWARDS
NOJHL Trophy – Best Defenceman: Spencer Horgan
NOJHL Trophy – Best Overall Team Player: Mason Walker
Wayne Chase Memorial Award – Best Goals-Against Average: Matthew Vahramian (Co-recipient)
James Aspen Trophy – Regular season champions
ALL-STAR TEAMS
1st Team
Nolan Newton (Forward)
Owen King (Forward)
Spencer Horgan (Defence)
2nd Team
Mason Walker (Forward)
Chris Seguin (Trainer/Equipment Manager)
3rd Team
Dave Clancy (GM)
Darryl Moxam (Head Coach)
THE EAGLES
Playoffs: Sault Ste. Marie surprised No. 2 seeded Powassan with their first round sweep of the Voodoos, while finishing 26 points in arrears of them in the regular season standings. … This marked the highest point differential overcome in a playoff series since 2017 when the Eagles surprised the rival Soo Thunderbirds in a West Division semifinal after finishing 31 points in arrears of the T-Birds. … They outscored Powassan 20-10 along the way. … The Soo went 26.3% on the power play in round one, notching five extra-man efforts in 19 chances. … They were flawless on the P.K., handling all 18 Voodoos man advantage opportunities and picked up one shorthanded goal. … The Eagles were 3-0 when scoring first. … They were 2-0 when leading after the first and second stanzas.
Regular season: After starting the campaign at 0-8-0-1, Sault Ste. Mare went 23-18-2-0 the rest of the way but were just 3-7-0-0 in their final 10 games. … At Pullar Stadium, the Eagles were 17-9-0-0 and only 6-17-2-1 away from home. … They sat seventh in goals-scored with 196 and allowed the seventh fewest against at 200. … Special teams saw the Soo end up eighth on the power play at 18.3%. … They were also eighth on the P.K. at 75.6%. … In all, the Eagles scored 39 times on the man advantage notched nine more while shorthanded. … The Michigan Soo went 17-6-0-0 when scoring first in a contest and sported a 19-5-0-0 mark when up after one period and were 19-2-0-0 when holding the lead through 40 minutes.
FORWARDS
Playoffs: Eagles’ rookie Logan Stawizynski led the club offensively against the Voodoos with nine points. … He notched four markers and added five helpers. … He presently sits tied for fifth in NOJHL playoff scoring. … Andeau Marceau is next up front with seven points as he had tallied twice and aided on five more. … That ties him for 10th by league skaters. … The duo of Lucas Caulfield and Nolan Nemecek have contributed with six points apiece.
Regular season: Four Eagles’ forwards were point-per-game performers-plus, while another was just shy of the mark. Topping that contingent was Lucas Caulfield, who is in his third season with the club. … Caulfield collected a team-high 58 points in 50 outings. … In all he banged in 20 tallies and helped set-up 38 others. … Tied for second in offensive production was Anden Marceau with 53 points in 45 games. … His 32 goals led the squad. … He was joined by Nolan Nemecek, who collected his 53 in 49 appearances. … You also had Alex Povorozniouk with 36 points in 35 games. … Four of his eight markers were game-winning efforts, which paced the Eagles. … Logan Stawizynki meanwhile contributed 45 points in the 48 times he took to the ice for the Soo. … His 23 goals put him second on the Eagles. … He also tied for sixth in NOJHL rookie scoring and sat second in tallies by a first-year skater and was No. 1 in man advantage efforts by a rookie.
DEFENCE
Playoffs: Micah Seery had a solid series against Powassan, picking up seven points on a goal and six assists. … That ties him for the league lead in overall numbers by D-men. … Colton Huckson chipped in with a couple of helpers, aiding the Soo in only allowing 10 goals-against. … Rookie D-man Kaden Schneider’s lone tally was a game-winner.
Regular season: Micah Seery led all Soo defencemen in scoring with 41 points in 52 games on 10 goals and 31 assists. … That placed him sixth among all league blueliners as well as third by a rookie. … Seery sat fifth in helpers from the back end and was second by a first-year D-man. … Gabriel Clark was next on the squad in scoring with 24 points 49 appearances. … After him was Colton Huckson at 22; Liam Watson with 19 and C.J. Zaharias, who came in with 18.
GOALTENDERS
Playoffs: Jace Knoerle started all four outings in the triumph vs. the Voodoos, winning them all. … That ties him for league lead. … He sits fourth in goals-against (2.23) and is second in save percentage (.947). … His 179 stops were the fourth highest in the quarter-finals.
Regular season: Jace Knoerle led the NOJHL in minutes played (2,002). … He made the fourth-most saves with 1,098. … Knoerle’s overall record was 14-18-0-0 and had a 4.05 goals-against average, to go with a save percentage of .891. … Knoerle has 30 league victories in his two seasons with the Eagles. … You also had rookie Dalton Hoornstra go 7-6-2-0 with a GAA of 3.07 and a save mark of .922. … Fellow rookie Jett Loechler was 2-1-0-0 late in the regular season where he boasted a 1.96 average, a .922 save percentage and collected his first NOJHL shutout.
ALL-STAR TEAMS
3rd Team: Micah Seery (Defence)
1st All-Rookie Team: Micah Seery (Defence)
UP NEXT: The series winner will move on to compete in the NOJHL’s Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy final against either the Hearst Lumberjacks or Timmins Rock.
BROADCASTERS
Cubs: Thomas Mercier
Eagles: Joey Nolan & Rob Horn
WHERE TO WATCH: All NOJHL playoff games are streamed live online via its official broadcast partner, at FLOHockey.tv.
Photo: Justin Cairns
