The Greater Sudbury Cubs are headed to the national stage after securing the 2026 NOJHL Copeland McNamara Cup in dramatic fashion, defeating the Timmins Rock 3-2 in overtime in game four on Wednesday, April 22nd at McIntyre Arena in Timmins, Ontario. With the victory, the Cubs complete a four-game sweep of the best-of-seven championship series.
Greater Sudbury wasted no time opening the scoring, striking just 1:23 into the first period. On their first shot of the game, Briir Long buried his 10th goal of the postseason from the right faceoff circle, finishing a setup from Noah Aboflan to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. The Rock responded late in the frame, as Maxx Hamelin notched his ninth of the playoffs unassisted at 15:50, sending the teams into the intermission tied 1-1.
A tightly checked second period saw no scoring, with both goaltenders standing tall and limiting quality chances.
The action picked up again in the third period. At 6:22, Noah Kohan gave the Cubs a 2-1 advantage, scoring his first goal of the postseason off a feed from Caden Dubreuil. However, Timmins answered back less than three minutes later. Ryan Armitage netted his sixth of the playoffs at 8:57, with assists from Thomas Beard and Nolan Masson, evening the score at 2-2 and forcing overtime.
In the extra frame, the Cubs completed their championship run in thrilling fashion. At 15:35 of the first overtime, Kaedyn Long scored the game-winner—his sixth of the postseason—off a setup from Caden Dubreuil and Owen King, sealing the 3-2 victory and the NOJHL title.
In goal, Iain Wintle delivered another strong performance for the Cubs, turning aside 33 of 35 shots to backstop his team to their third consecutive Copeland McNamara Cup championship. At the other end, Frédéric Cousineau made 34 saves on 37 shots in a valiant effort for the Rock in the overtime loss.
With the championship secured, the Greater Sudbury Cubs now shift their focus to the national stage, where they will represent the NOJHL at the 2026 Centennial Cup National Championship in Summerside, Prince Edward Island from May 7th to 17th.
Photo: Caleigh Fera (Points North Media)
