Latest news with #GreaterSudburyCubs
Ottawa Citizen
4 days ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Greater Sudbury Cubs welcome new group of prospects to camp
Article content A taste of NOJHL action with the Greater Sudbury Cubs last season only whetted Jameson Fabbro's appetite for a steady serving. Article content The 17-year-old forward from Sudbury made his latest case for a roster spot on the weekend, as one of 40 players from across Northern Ontario and points to the south who participated in the Cubs' spring prospect camp. Article content Six goalies, 13 defencemen and 21 forwards converged on Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex for practices and a pair of games on Saturday, followed by one more game on Sunday. Article content Article content 'Hopefully, I can play here next year,' said Fabbro, an Erie Otters draft choice who helped to lead the Sudbury Wolves U18 AAA squad to a Great North Under-18 League championship this season. Article content Article content 'This is a great junior team and I would love to stay at home and just play junior and get better.' Article content A relative of several high-level hockey players through the Savage and Hillman families, Fabbro also dressed for eight games with the Greater Sudbury juniors, recording his first NOJHL point back in September before witnessing their run to a second straight league title. 'It was definitely an eye-opener, playing up with the big boys,' said Fabbro, a sturdy six-foot, 175-pounder who collected 20 goals and 27 assists in 32 games with the Sudbury U18s. 'But it's a lot easier, playing with the bigger guys and being on a line with them, moving pucks quicker and the pace is definitely faster.' Article content Article content Indeed, he believes head coach Darryl Moxam and his staff would be an ideal fit for his playing style and help him to round out his game as he moves up the ranks. Article content 'They have a great style of coaching and a really fast team,' Fabbro said. 'I feel like I fit in pretty good with that.' Article content And he could be all the more prepared to take that step following a thrilling run with the U18 Wolves, who followed up their fourth-place finish in the 2024-25 regular season by upending higher seeds from Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay and finally host Timmins in the league's championship tournament. Article content 'I got to stay at home and I was more comfortable,' Fabbro suggested. 'Mindset is a pretty big part of the game and that was a good choice I made. My teammates were phenomenal, I knew all of them and we were building chemistry throughout the season. I had a good time.' Article content He's well aware, of course, that the Cubs will have no shortage of potential prospects after making back-to-back appearances at the Centennial Cup national championship and with several standout players set to graduate, and he doesn't plan to leave anything to chance. He expects a busy summer of training, both on and off the ice.
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
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Lincoln Moore marker lifts Greater Sudbury Cubs to national quarter-finals
Lincoln Moore's addition to the Greater Sudbury Cubs roster was not a moment too soon. Article content Joining up with the NOJHL champions for the seventh game of the league final late last month, the former OHLer from Garden River had three assists in his debut in a Cubs jersey. Moore maintained that momentum at the Centennial Cup national junior A hockey championship in Calgary with five goals and two assists in only four games, including a game-winning power-play tally in a 2-1 win over the Kam River Fighting Walleye on Wednesday. Article content Nolan Newton also scored, Lucas Signoretti had two assists and Karsen Chartier made 28 saves to propel the Cubs to a 2-2 record, good for third place in Group A and a berth in the quarter-final round on Friday. Article content Article content They'll hit the ice at either 6 p.m. ET or 9:30 p.m. ET, likely against the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Article content Easton Debray had the lone goal and Ashton Sadauskas made 24 saves for the Walleye, champions from the Superior International Junior Hockey League, on Wednesday. Kam River finished outside the playoff round despite opening the event with an overtime win against the Trenton Golden Hawks, first-place finishers in the group. Article content Greater Sudbury became the first NOJHL team to advance past the prelims at the national championship since the Soo Thunderbirds in 2012. The T-Birds fell 3-0 in the semifinals to the eventual winners, the Penticton Vees. Prior to that, the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats made the final in 2000, when the event was known as the Royal Bank Cup, and were edged 2-1 by the host Fort McMurray Oil Barons.
Ottawa Citizen
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Greater Sudbury Cubs split opening weekend at Centennial Cup
The same group of Greater Sudbury Cubs who helped to power their team to a championship-clinching victory in the NOJHL final continued their strong play to start the Centennial Cup national championship in Calgary. Article content Article content Daks Klinkhammer and Logan Moore had two goals each, Nolan Newton recorded four assists and Karsen Chartier made 35 saves, including a highlight behind-the-back grab with his glove as the Cubs defeated the Grande Prairie Storm 6-2 in their round-robin opener at Max Bell Centre on Friday night. Article content Article content Ryan Rubic and Noah Kohan also scored for the Cubs, who led 1-0 after one period and 4-2 after 40 minutes, before tacking on two more tallies in the final frame. Article content Article content 'We stayed level-headed today compared to our first game last year (a 10-2 loss to Collingwood),' Cubs head coach Darryl Moxam said in a post-game release from Hockey Canada. 'Whether we were up or they came back and tied the hockey game, we just stayed the course and playing a Game 7 in order to get here helped out in that. Props to our leadership group, our coaching staff or anyone else on the bench, they didn't allow anyone to get too high or too low and last year's experience had a lot to do with that.' Colin Doherty and Alec Hall scored, while Nicholas Jones and Keagin Kelln combined to make 16 saves for Grande Prairie, a finalist in the Alberta Junior Hockey League this season. Article content Greater Sudbury got off to a similarly strong start on Saturday, leading the Northern Manitoba Blizzard 1-0 after the first stanza, but the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champions knotted the score in the second, then outpaced the locals with five goals in the final frame to take a 6-3 decision. Article content Article content Moore, Spencer Horgan and Ben Harris had the goals and Chartier made 29 stops for the Cubs, who were scheduled to face the Trenton Golden Hawks, winners of the Ontario Junior Hockey League championship, on Monday at 6 p.m. ET, then the Kam River Fighting Walleye, champs from the Superior International Junior Hockey League, on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET to finish out the round-robin portion of the tournament. Article content Jack Linton, with two goals and an assist, and Brett Ward, with one marker and a pair of helpers, were the offensive leaders for Northern Manitoba on Saturday.
Ottawa Citizen
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Greater Sudbury Cubs become back-to-back NOJHL champions
Article content Daks Klinkhammer was a bulldozer as he powered his way toward the goal on Wednesday night, shrugging off a defender and pushing the puck into the empty net. Article content Players on the Greater Sudbury Cubs bench and fans in the stands at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex erupted in celebration as the home side took a 6-4 lead, while at the other end of the ice, goaltender Karsen Chartier motioned for his teammates to stay calm. He knew the Hearst Lumberjacks were very much still in the fight, as they had been for all seven games of a gruelling NOJHL final. Article content Article content Thirty-seven more hard-fought seconds later, the horn finally sounded and the Cubs could finally celebrate winning back-to-back championships. Article content Article content 'All glory to God — it was a tough series, a good playoff run and a great group, really resilient,' said Klinkhammer, his smile as bright as the championship medal around his neck. 'I'm just super happy to get the job done, especially at home, in front of such an amazing group of fans.' Article content Klinkhammer scored twice and Noah Kohan, Cameron Shanks, Spencer Horgan and Alex Valade once each, while Chartier made 32 saves to help the Cubs shake off a determined Hearst crew, backed by its own sizeable cheering section, that had battled back from a three-game deficit in the series. Article content 'I can't even explain it right now,' said 19-year-old forward Nolan Newton, who recorded three assists, including one on Valade's eventual game-winner. 'All the boys came to play today. We played our system, everyone worked hard — it was just great. Article content Article content 'I can't even speak right now.' Article content Having dispatched their first two playoff opponents in short, if not easy series, the top-seeded Cubs were tested like never before by the Lumberjacks, who trailed 5-2 on Wednesday before battling back with goals in the late second and early third frames and perhaps evoking memories of their wild comeback win in Game 5. Article content This time, however, Greater Sudbury held up Hearst's relentless pressure, even with veteran defenders such as captain Mason Chitaroni and William Haley injured, and Chartier made some of his better stops as time ticked away. Article content 'You look in that room and we have had our ups and downs, whether on ice or off ice,' said Cubs head coach Darryl Moxam, the reigning NOJHL Coach of the Year, who rated the series as the most difficult and certainly most nerve-wracking of his career. 'We just found a way to come back and stay the course.
