Latest news with #DarrylMoxam
Ottawa Citizen
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Greater Sudbury Cubs begin off-season reload with prospect camp
Article content Ever the competitor, Greater Sudbury Cubs head coach Darryl Moxam was bound to be left with a bitter taste when his team was eliminated from Centennial Cup competition nearly two weeks ago. Article content Given some time to digest the season as a whole, however, the reigning NOJHL Coach of the Year was certainly proud of his players, staff and all members of the organization for the parts they played in helping the Cubs to win a second straight league title and the first national playoff berth for a local entrant since 2000, despite some injuries to key contributors. Article content Article content 'You're never completely satisfied when you don't win your final game of the season,' Moxam told The Sudbury Star this week. 'But when you take some time a week later and kind of reflect on the successes of the individuals and the team and the staff and the organization and the ownership, you're definitely proud, there's no question about it. I couldn't be any happier with our group of players and the commitment they showed.' Article content Article content Greater Sudbury's historic run at the nationals in Calgary finally came to an end on May 16, when the locals dropped a quarter-final decision to the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, the eventual silver medallists. Article content The host Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League emerged as the Centennial Cup champions. Article content 'I understand at that time of year, everyone is competing with injuries and banged up,' Moxam said. 'But it really made us realize, after that last game, how lucky you have to be with injuries and different things to win a national championship. We were no different from anybody else — we just ran into too many injuries and we didn't have enough gas to finish off what we started out to try to achieve in September.' Article content Article content Determined to earn another crack at the title, the Cubs will begin their effort to build another contender with their annual prospect camp, to be held at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex this coming Saturday and Sunday. More than 30 players aged 16 to 20 will take part in roughly five hours of on-ice practice and scrimmages. Article content 'There's a lot of local young men coming out who would like to be a part of it,' Moxam said. 'We are a local, community team and we have a very large percentage of kids from the North and from Ontario and I would love nothing more than to add local, key pieces, kids who have played U18 or U16, and see where we're at as far as that is concerned.' Article content Some out-of-town attendees, such as Eidan Macartney, have also proven to be pleasant surprises. The now 18-year-old centreman from Kitchener not only earned a spot in 2024-25, but proved a reliable two-way performer for the entire season.
Ottawa Citizen
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Greater Sudbury Cubs to face Melfort Mustangs in Centennial Cup quarter-final
Article content The Greater Sudbury Cubs will open the Centennial Cup playoff round with a quarter-final tilt against the Melfort Mustangs at the Max Bell Centre in Calgary on Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Article content Head coach Darryl Moxam and company defeated the Kam River Fighting Walleye on Wednesday became the first NOJHL representatives since 2012 to advance past the preliminary round of the national junior A hockey championship. Article content Greater Sudbury finished third in Group A with a record of 2-2, opening the tourney with a win over the Grande Prairie Storm, 6-2, then suffering losses to the Northern Manitoba Blizzard, 6-3, and Trenton Golden Hawks, 5-2, before bouncing back to edge the Walleye, 2-1. Article content Article content 'We had a really good second period, maybe the best one of the year last game (against Trenton), and I thought we carried it over to the first period today,' Moxam said after the win over Kam River. 'I thought their goalie played phenomenal. We stayed calm and composed, because we were pressing a little bit in the first and I thought we could have been up a couple of goals. They found their legs in the second and it was a dead-even hockey game from there. We were fortunate enough to capitalize on some power-play opportunities, because we haven't exactly been rolling on the power play this week. At the end of the game, it was up for anybody. I thought both goalies gave both teams a chance to win and it was a heck of a hockey game.' Article content Both Greater Sudbury and Melfort are back-to-back Centennial Cup entrants, the latter as champion in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Mustangs finished second in Group B this year with two regulation wins, an overtime victory and a loss. Article content Lincoln Moore paced the Cubs offensively in round-robin play with seven points, including a team-best five tallies. His goal total was third best in a 10-team field. Article content Greater Sudbury's Nolan Newton had six points, including a goal and five assists, while Samuel Assinewai had five assists and Lucas Signoretti four helpers. Article content Logan Belton had six points and Ashton Hutchinson five for the Mustangs. Cubs goaltender Karsen Chartier had a save percentage of .898 in four appearances, while Mustangs netminder Kristian Coombs sported a .915 in three outings. Northern Manitoba will meet the Rockland Nationals in Friday's other quarter-final at 9:30 p.m. ET. Earning byes directly to Saturday's semifinals were Trenton and the host Calgary Canucks, who finished in top spot in each of the two groups.
