Nolan Newton scored a dramatic overtime winner as the Greater Sudbury Cubs defeated the Hearst Lumberjacks 5-4 Friday, knotting the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) final at one game apiece.
The victory came in front of a home crowd at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex, where the Cubs battled back from a late deficit to force extra time. Newton sealed the win just 4:30 into overtime, racing end-to-end before firing a high shot past Hearst goaltender Alexandre Boivin.
“A splendid coast-to-coast dash resulted in Nolan Newton scoring four and a half minutes into overtime to lift the Cubs to a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Hearst Lumberjacks Friday,” the NOJHL said in a release.
The game was a back-and-forth affair, with Hearst striking first on a Brayden Hindman rebound goal. Sudbury responded with a power-play marker, capitalizing on a goal-mouth scramble that saw a Lumberjacks defender accidentally deflect the puck in.
The Cubs briefly took the lead in the second period after Spencer Horgan finished a slick give-and-go with William Haley, but Hearst’s Chase Thompson tied it with a deflection. Cameron Shanks then put Sudbury ahead 3-2 with a spinning shot from the slot.
Hearst surged back in the third, with Cole Miller and Mathieu Ouellet scoring to give the Lumberjacks a 4-3 edge. But with just seconds left in regulation – and on a power play with an extra attacker – Shanks hammered home a one-timer to force overtime, setting up Newton’s heroics.
Boivin was stellar in defeat, making several key stops – including a penalty-shot denial of Lucas Signoretti – while Cubs netminder Karsen Chartier held firm in the extra frame.
The series now shifts to Hearst’s Claude Larose Recreation Centre for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday, with both contests starting at 7 p.m. The teams will return to Sudbury for Game 5 on Friday. Then, if necessary, Game 6 will be in Hearst on April 28 and Game 7 would be back in Sudbury on April 30.
