Cubs convincing in home win over Paper Kings

SUDBURY, Ont. – The high-flying Greater Sudbury Cubs picked up multi-point efforts from seven different skaters as part of a convincing 9-2 decision over the Espanola Paper Kings Sunday in a feisty Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League matinee at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.

Entering the contest unbeaten, Greater Sudbury took the lead 12 and a half minutes into the match-up when Hudson Chitaroni notched his fifth of the campaign after he whipped in a feed from Brock Houser.

Adding to their edge during a two-man advantage, the Cubs’ Cameron Walker tucked in a rebound off a Marshall McCharles attempt from the top of the right circle.

Still up a skater, the home side tacked on another on a spectacular goal by Nolan Newton who wheeled out of the corner, up along the blueline, where he dangled around a defender then drove hard to the net from the left side, before taking it wide and neatly slipping the puck past a sprawled Andrew Gaulton in the Espanola net.

Breaking it open in the first minute of the second period, Cameron Shanks made a nice cross-crease pass across that all Christopher Innes needed to do was steer in for his initial marker of the campaign to make it 4-0.

The Cubs then came right back and notched another 30 seconds later, off the stick of Chitaroni, as he took a drop pass from McCharles and snapped it over the blocker of the Paper Kings goalkeeper.

Opting to make a change following that, Jake Marois entered the Espanola net and would go the rest of the way in long relief.

Greater Sudbury greeted him however on a power play marker from Newton who was sent in by Chitaroni and ripped his chance into the right-side corner at 6:07.

Special teams helped provide another for the hosts as couple of shifts later when McCharles took an Oliver Smith feed, then went in and supplied a shorthanded effort, off a back hand, from a sharp angle.

Down a skater themselves, Espanola put one past Cubs’ netminder Noah Beaulne midway through the game as Nicolas Saucier picked up his initial NOJHL tally by finishing off a nice toe drag move and pass from teammate Liam Rampersad.

Getting that back, Smith tipped in a Chitaroni set-up from in close while the Paper Kings had a pair of players in the penalty box.

Early in the third, the visitor’s Liam McDonald sent a rising wrist shot from the point that sailed into the net past a screened Beaulne for his initial NOJHL goal.

Smith countered that though on the next shift after getting knocked down, then got back up in time to guide in his second of the day and league-leading seventh overall in what was the game’s final goal.

The result sees the league-leading Cubs improve to Cubs 6-0-0-0 while in defeat, the Paper Kings fell to 4-2-0-0.

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