Grabbing a 2-1 series lead thanks to a convincing 5-1 win over the Blind River Beavers the previous night, the Greater Sudbury Cubs were fully prepared for the expected pushback in game four from the NOJHL West Division champs.
It would take all of a half period of play or so, however, for coach Darryl Moxam's squad to signal that they were ready to do it all over again.
Up 4-1 after twenty minutes of play, the Cubs cruised to a surprisingly easy 9-2 win and now have a chance to advance to the league final come Thursday night in Blind River.
"We started off with a great forecheck, played discipline and kept our emotions in check," noted NOJHL rookie and Sudbury Wolves' prospect Hudson Chitaroni. "Everything was going for us tonight."
Ya - that might be a bit of an understatement.
Chitaroni finished the encounter with five points (2G-3A), while linemate Nolan Newton netted a hat-trick in the first period alone, matching his teammate's production in a slightly different manner (3G-2A).
"He (Newton) is a very creative player, always in the right spots," suggested Chitaroni, finishing in the top ten in regular season scoring (55GP - 31G - 46A) and looking every bit as productive in the post-season (13 points in 10 games to date).
"I just love playing with him and Marsh (fellow Wolves' prospect Marshall McCharles - 1G/1A). It's awesome."
Pretty much everything was awesome Tuesday night at the Gerry McCrory Sports Complex for the Cubs, opening the scoring 4:20 in (Newton on the PP), doubing the advantage three minutes later (Chitaroni), with Newton completing his "tour du chapeau" with a solitary reply from Daniel Vasic squeezed in between.
Sudbury second period goals from Ethan Larmand, McCharles and Justin Seguin were more than enough to offset a second Blind River strike (Josh Thompson), the homeside closing things off in the third (Larmand on PP; Chitaroni - SH).
Yet for all of the offensive hoopla, the 16 year-old son of former Sudbury Wolf Terry Chitaroni remains far more pleased with his development elsewhere on the ice.
"I feel like I've become more of a complete player this year, playing both sides of the puck, playing on the PK, finishing my checks, everything like that," opined Chitaroni.
Noah Metivier recorded his seventh win of the playoffs with an 18-save performance while Beavers' head coach Kyle Brick looked to shake things up, giving the starting nod to Gavin Disano.
The 20 year-old puckstopper was pulled with his team trailing 3-0, although Noah Tegelaar hardly fared much better behind an overwhelmed Blind River side, the tandem surrendering nine goals on 32 shots.
The Sudbury roster has featured a couple of recent changes, with affiliated forward Kaedyn Long dressed for each of the past two games and defenceman Brock Houser pencilled back in Tuesday, allowing a little rest for warrior Cole Quevillon, his body bearing the brunt of 68 very demanding games to date.
Game five goes Thursday in Blind River, returning to Sudbury on Sunday evening, if need be.
