For the most part, lacrosse in Sudbury is a late spring / summer undertaking, with the GSLA (Greater Sudbury Lacrosse Association) running their house-league schedule early on, giving way to the Sudbury Rockhounds competitive box lacrosse contingent in June-July-August.
That said, at least a handful of people locally are trying to extend the sport to a more year-round platform.
The Laurentian Voyageurs have been participating in the fall CUFLA (Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association) loop for well over a decade now, though the tandem of Jake Kelly (head coach) and Matthew Delabbio (assistant coach / head recruiter) are far more newcomers to the party.
For the past couple of years now, the gents have been hard at work trying to rebuild the program and for as much as the 2025 campaign did not yield that very first victory that the duo so aspired to, the signs that it is not all that far off were evident far and wide.
“Our large (2025) recruiting class took time to adjust to the level of play of university (field) lacrosse - but once they were a few games in, things really started to pick up offensively and defensively,” said Delabbio. “The most promising steps would be those games that we kept really close - or were even winning at one point.”
“We were up 9-4 against McMaster when we hosted them, but couldn’t keep it together for the full sixty minutes with our short bench.”
Later in October, the team dropped a 13-6 decision to the University of Toronto Blues (L.U. goals - Isaac Story-Korman (3); Matteo Di Ciccio (2); Grant Petronech) before closing out their season with a heart-breaking 10-9 overtime loss on Sunday against the Laurier Hawks (L.U. goals - Jake Sudsbury (6); Emmett Cancilla; Rowan Smith; Matteo Di Ciccio).
“All of our rookies jumped in right away and made an impact,” added Delabbio.
CUFLA post-season matchups were barely finalized as Delabbio looked to the next steps that the Voyageurs must take in order to earn a return to respectability in the 16-team circuit. “The biggest thing for the players is continuing to work on their conditioning, their stick skills, and enhancing their lacrosse IQ over the winter and summer months ahead,” he said.
“My job will be to continue recruiting to fill some holes and adding some much-needed depth to our roster. The good news is that we are losing only two players (to graduation), leaving our roster at 20 players - before recruiting.”
Included in the group of returning freshmen is leading goal scorer Jake Sudsbury (15 goals), as well as Emmett Cancilla and Grant Petronech with six points each. The development of the young talent shall continue, as the coaching staff begin to identify where best to exploit the natural athleticism of some very dedicated young men.
Case in point: Isaac Story-Korman.
“He had never played field (lacrosse) coming here and quite frankly, was relatively new to lacrosse in general, playing a year or two of box (lacrosse) as a kid,” noted Delabbio. “He typically played two-way midfield for us the past few years but found a home on attack this year and enjoyed a breakthrough season.”
Delabbio also points to siblings Matteo and Luca Di Ciccio as examples of what can be accomplished when you receive a complete buy-in from an incoming varsity athlete and have a little time on your side to mold the finished product. The key is to allow them room to grow, to create a supportive environment that opens the door to opportunities.
The CUFLA end of season Rookie All-Star Game did wonders in terms of building the confidence of returnees Rowan Smith and goaltender Ethan Roos and Delabbio sees the potential for at least five members of the first year class at L.U. this year attending the event in just a few weeks time.
“If the league allowed us to, I would bring all of them,” said Delabbio.
Rounding out the 2025 Voyageurs’ men’s lacrosse roster are Landen Humphries, Matthieu Pedron, Avery Brookes, Carter Payeur, Cody Brown, Cayden Cassidy, Frederic Gareau, Adam Haffner, Spencer Kennedy, Ryan Lou, William Nesbitt, Andrew Stephen, Noah Tremblay and Kevin McFarlane.
The fact that Mike Miron would want to extend the lacrosse season to twelve full months of the year will come as a surprise to absolutely no one.
The former all-star NLL (National Lacrosse League) goalie has been instrumental in building up a Sudbury Rockhounds summer squad that captured OLA provincial banners three years in a row before ascending his team to the highest level of U22 action this past August.
“Over the last four years, my guys have really levelled out and really come through - and they want to keep going,” said Miron. “A lot of our guys want a crack at junior and this is the best path for them.”
In doing so, Miron effectively introduced the Sudbury Hounds Junior ALL (Arena Lacrosse League) U22 team, one of six new entries this year into the winter season loop. The Hounds will play ten regular season games, all based out of Brampton, along with a playoff schedule, with the league mandated to wrap things up by the beginning of April and the start of the OLA Junior summer schedule.
“It’s played on turf, with bigger nets, crease diving - all the stuff you see in the NLL,” said Miron. “It’s very good lacrosse, with junior A/B/C players who are not away in the NCAA for university.”
“This is almost like one of the stepping stones to the NLL.”
In order to remain competitive, Miron has tapped roughly a dozen or so of his Rockhounds squad - but he most certainly did not stop there. With his array of contacts province-wide (and beyond), Miron has added a handful of current CUFLA players (Nipissing, U of T, Laurentian), a trio of talent from Kahnawake as well as a few lads that he had coached with the Huntsville Jr C program.
The 2025-2026 inaugural roster for the Sudbury Hounds features Alex Farrington, Alex Hachez, Ashton Eadie, Austin Arlt, Ben Harris, Cody Wahl, Curtis Ashkewe, Daniel Clarke, Darcy Riesberry, Edward Galts, Glen Thur, Jack Quinn, Jackson Norton, Jacob Barney, Kai D’Amour, Kiaus Lalonde, Logan Gabriel, Lucas Littlejohn, Marc-Alexandre Surette, Mason Robertson, Mason Lachance, Matteo Di Ciccio, Noah Larcher, Samuel Kotsopoulos, Wyatt Cross and Xavier Esquimaux.
The team staff includes head coach Mike Miron, assistant coaches Jake Kelly, Dave Lachance, Eric Jacobs, Matthew Barney and Trevor Harris and team manager Mitch Hachez.
