Cubs impress against Rock in series opener
Briir Long has six-point night
Backed by a six-point night from Briir Long, including four assists, the Greater Sudbury Cubs went on to dismantle the Timmins Rock 9-3 Thursday evening in the opening game of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League Final at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
Converting on the initial power play of the series, the Rock opened the scoring when Nolan Masson pulled up and fired a feed across to Kaeden McArthur in the left circle where he wired a shot past Cubs’ goaltender Iain Wintle, just over 12 minutes into the contest.
The tally was McArthur’s league-leading 12 of the playoffs.
With the assist to Masson as well as a second one to Maxx Hamelin, the duo extended postseason point streaks to six and eight respectively.
Countering a couple of shifts later, Noah Aboflan drew Greater Sudbury level when he knocked down a Daks Klinkhammer attempt from the right boards that bounced down and skipped by Timmins’ netminder Frédéric Cousineau.
The home side kept coming and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission compliments of Grant Booth, who stuffed in a loose puck off Long rush into the Timmins zone where he sent a shot from the slot that Cousineau could not quite contain.
Picking up the secondary assist on the marker was Mason Walker, who has now etched his name on the game sheet at least once in all nine playoff games his team has had in 2026.
In the middle stanza, an early backhand effort from Spencer Horgan just inside the Rock blueline put Long in alone where he side-stepped a diving Cousineau coming out of his net and tucked one into the open cage 44 seconds in.
Adding a fourth straight effort, Horgan broke up a play in his own territory while shorthanded, then sent Caden Dubreuil darting down the left wing where he whipped in his fourth of the playoffs.
Not done there, Owen King made it 5-1 via the man advantage when he took a pass over from Walker and roofed a wrister past a partially screened Cousineau.
With the goal, King has now scored in four straight outings.
A goaltending change to begin the final frame, Timmins opted to make a goaltending change, with Ayden Mullen entering in relief, who made his initial playoff appearance.
An immediate reply saw the Rock’s Thomas Beard chop in a chance put his way by Evan Katic down low to bring the guests to within three during a power play.
Going back to work on the man advantage a couple of shifts later, Timmins captain Braedyn Cyr lifted one in from distance past a blocked out Wintle to bring his side closer.
The Cyr tally was his fifth extra-man effort of the postseason, which leads all players.
However, Greater Sudbury got that back at even strength 30 seconds later thanks to Long, who beat Mullen with an attempt along the ice that got under the pad from the left side.
Booth then bagged his second of the evening as he scooped up a rebound off another Long chance and banked it in from below the goal line.
After the Cubs’ Nate Lazarus redirected in a Walker shot, Kyle Navarro capped off the result by snapping one in from the point for his first NOJHL playoff tally.
Game 2 goes Friday back in Sudbury at 7:05 p.m. and on FLOHockey.tv.
NOJHL Final
No. 1 Greater Sudbury Cubs vs. No. 4 Timmins Rock
Game 1: Cubs 9, Rock 3
Game 2: Friday, April 17 @ Sudbury 7:05 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 3: Tuesday, April 21 @ Timmins 7:05 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 4: Wednesday, April 22 @ Timmins 7:05 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 5*: Friday, April 24 @ Sudbury 7:05 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
Game 6*: Monday, April 27 @ Timmins 7:05 p.m. (McIntyre Arena)
Game 7*: Wednesday, April 29 @ Sudbury 7:05 p.m. (Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex)
*-if necessary
Greater Sudbury leads best-of-seven series 1-0
