A convincing 9-3 win followed by a much, much closer 4-3 triumph have given the Greater Sudbury Cubs a 2-0 series lead as the NOJHL final shifts to the McIntyre Community Centre, home of the Timmins Rock, for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The line of Briir Long (2G-4A), Mason Walker (5A) and Grant Booth (2G-A) were at the forefront of the damage in the series opener as Sudbury spotted the visitors a 1-0 lead and countered with five answered goals, also responding quickly after the Rock narrowed the gap to just two goals (5-3) early in the third.

Joining the dynamic trio on the scoresheet for the homeside were Noah Aboflan, Caden Dubreuil, Owen King, Nate Lazarus and Kyle Navarro (a 75th birthday gift from grandpa Julio, apparently), while Kaeden McArthur, Thomas Beard and Braedyn Cyr replied in a losing cause.

Iain Wintle picked up the win between the pipes for Sudbury with a 44-save effort while the Cubs chased Timmins starter Frédéric Cousineau after 40 minutes of play as Ayden Mullen surrendered the final four goals in the third.

Game two started very much like game one, with Timmins breaking the ice in terms of scoring (Ryan Armitage - short-handed - 9:09 of 1st) and the Cubs coming back with a pair of tallies before the end of the frame (Briir Long, Mason Walker) to grab the lead.

This time around, the Rock kept things tight in the middle stanza, pulling even at 13:33 when Ian Lachance converted on a cross-ice pass from Thomas Beard, their team on the power-play.

The turning point came in a span of less than two minutes later in the frame as Kaedyn Long restored the advantage on a great backhand pass from Spencer Horgan and captain Daks Klinkhammer managed to sneak his shot into the narrowest of gaps above the shoulder of Frédéric Cousineau, leaving the scoreboard reading 4-2 heading to the third.

Building off a very aggressive puck pursuit in the final 20 minutes that fully highlighted the across the lineup speed of the two-time defending league champs, the Cubs limited the Rock to just six shots on net in total.

Despite that, Timmins did manage to make things interesting when Ashton Beriana went back against the grain to fool Iain Wintle with a hair under five minutes remaining.

For as much as the top end snipers of the league's top team are often highlighted - and deservedly so - long-time hockey people all know that a big part of a truly successful team lies also in having skaters who can help turn things around, mid-game, even if they don't often find the back of the net.

With the score tied at 2-2, third year Cub Mateo Signoretti knew that such an opportunity might just present itself. "In the second period, we kind of had a slow start," said the feisty 19 year-old forward.

"Mox (head coach Darryl Moxam) sent me, Ty Dubreuil and Noah Aboflan out there and basically our goal was just to go out and bang some bodies, get the momentum back in our favour."

"Right after that, our team scored two quick goals so I think we did our job pretty well out there."

With seven teams taking more penalty minutes than the Cubs were assessed in 2025-2026, the local juggernaut knows full well that they need more of the same, or better, with four of the six Timmins goals to date coming on the power-play.

"We have to stay way more disciplined," said Signoretti. "They are really good on the power play."

The good news for those who play a role similar to the talkative product of the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association is that the Sudbury coaching staff does a nice job of spelling out the specifics of what is acceptable or not acceptable.

"Mox doesn't want any lazy penalties, no penalties in the offensive zone," said Signoretti. "If you are struggling late in a shift in the defensive zone and you take a penalty battling and working hard, he might cut you some slack there."

"Beside that, it's not a good look if you're taking penalties."

Of course, less time in the box means more time on the ice, with Signoretti nearly doubling his point production from one year ago, netting eight goals and seven assists this past season.

"The biggest thing for me is that I was in my head a little bit last year," he said. "This year, I just let loose a little bit more and played my game and the points just came."