The Iroquois Falls Storm was sent back up north last night disappointed, taking a 6-1 loss to the Greater Sudbury Cubs during Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex on Nov. 23.
The Cubs scored first just past the one-minute mark of the game on a goal by Noah Kohan who turned a cross-ice pass from Mason Chitaroni into a bullet from the top of the right circle that clipped Storm netminder Brodie Haylock’s glove and fell into the net.
“Coming right back a couple of shifts later, the Cubs tacked on another when Ben Lacroix scored from a sharp angle, which resulted in the Storm bringing in back-up Connor Hatfield in long relief,” the team said in a news release.
This goal marked Cubs’ newcomer Matteo Signoretti’s first NOJHL point, which he earned in his NOJHL debut.
The first ended 2-0 for Sudbury, which it was how it would remain after 20 scoreless minutes in the second period as Cubs’ goalie Noah Beaulne turned aside the Storm offence.
Iroquois Falls finally got on the board near the five-minute mark of the third, when Andre Cho forced a turnover in the Greater Sudbury end and moved the puck over to Seth Morin on his right, who fired a short-side shot passed Beaulne to make it 2-1.
Greater Sudbury made it 3-1 at 8:23 of the final frame when, on a power play, Hudson Martin teed up Lacroix for a one-timer that beat Storm netminder Hatfield.
Strong support from their special teams helped Greater Sudbury add to their lead. Shorthanded, Martin knocked down a shot attempt in his own end, then darted up ice and fed Cameron Walker, who swatted the puck in with less than a half-period to play.
Now at 4-1, the Cubs weren’t done yet. Brady Bouchard extended their edge by wheeling into the slot and firing a shot off the post and in. Minutes later, Walker made it 6-1 after he was left with a tap-in off a solid play and pass off the stick of Ben Harris to round out the scoring.
With the victory, Greater Sudbury improves to a league-best 21-6-0-0 on the campaign, while in defeat, the Storm slip to 7-21-0-1 overall.
The Cubs have a solid lead in the NOJHL with 42 points, a full six points ahead of the Blind River Beavers.
