Timmins Rock captain Braedyn Cyr rings a shot off the post in behind Greater Sudbury Cubs goalie Iain Wintle during the second period of Game 4 of the NOJHL final at the McIntyre Arena, Wednesday night. After hitting the post, the puck narrowly missed being deflected into the Cubs net by either Wintle’s stick or blocker. It was typical of the kind of puck luck the Rock had while dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to the Cubs and the best-of-seven series 4-0. Photo by THOMAS PERRY /The Daily Press
For the second-straight game Kaedyn Long supplied the game-winning goal as the Greater Sudbury Cubs edged the Timmins Rock 3-2 to sweep their best-of-seven series 4-0
Thomas Perry
The Daily Press/Postmedia Network
The Timmins Rock’s 2026 playoff run came to an end 15:35 into overtime in Game 4 of the NOJHL final at the McIntyre Arena, Wednesday night.
For the second-straight game Kaedyn Long supplied the game-winning goal as the Greater Sudbury Cubs edged the Rock 3-2 to sweep their best-of-seven series 4-0.
Cubs coach Darryl Moxam was all smiles as he watched his team celebrate its Copeland Cup – McNamara Trophy victory.
“Just resiliency, our guys all year, and I know every team faces adversity over the course of eight or nine months, we have had suspensions and injuries,” he said, when asked about the secret to the Cubs’ success.
“You look at a guy like Nolan Newton, not playing in the playoffs, coming here every single day, the positive energy he brings to all of these guys.”
GAME 3: Cubs push Timmins Rock to brink of elimination
Moxam also credited the Cubs attention to details on the defensive side of the puck.
“I do want to tip my cap to Timmins, though,” he said. “That’s a heck of an organization and a heck of a hockey club, like I have said for three years now. They are well coached and well structured.
“That’s a pretty impressive hockey club we found a way to beat. Either one of the teams would have represented (the NOJHL) at the Centennial Cup.”
The Cubs coach admitted Game 4 was a little closer than he would have hoped for heading into the contest.
“Absolutely, but we knew that’s what Timmins was going to bring,” Moxam said. “I said before the game we had to have a Game 7 mentality.
“This is the first time I have ever been a part of a championship team that won in overtime, so we are going to enjoy the victory for a couple of days, then we have to turn around and we have a job to do in a couple of weeks.”
That job, in case you are wondering, is winning the 2026 Centennial Cup championship.
GM2: Cubs hold on to edge Timmins Rock, take 2-0 series lead
“We just have to draw on the success of last year,” Moxam said. “I guess it is never success if you don’t win the final game of the year, but we found some success and advanced through to the elimination (round). We have got to draw on our experience because we have a lot of guys who were there and one that last year.
“We have to use some of the things that went well last year as motivation. We understand it is going to take all 25 or 26 guys.”
For those who haven’t been keeping track, this is the Cubs third-straight NOJHL championship — known as a threepeat in the world of sports.
“To do it once is special, to have a chance to do it three times, I can’t say enough about every single guy who has been a part of the Cubs organization for the last three or four years,” Moxam said.
The contest almost didn’t make it to overtime, as Cubs forward Mason Walker was awarded a penalty shot with 27.0 seconds remaining in regulation — a call that didn’t sit well with the majority of the 1,255 fans in attendance.
GM1: Cubs maul Timmins Rock to take early lead in NOJHL final
But Rock goalie Frédéric Cousineau got his right pad down in time to deny Walker’s attempt, causing the fans to chant, “Freddy, Freddy, Freddy,” in appreciation.
Both Cousineau and his counterpart at the other end of the rink, Cubs goalie Iain Wintle, were sharp throughout the contest.
Even on the goal that decided the series, Long picked up a rebound after Cousineau made the original save and then beat him from a difficult angle, as the goalie’s 6-4 height was not quite enough to allow him to get all the way across his crease in time to stop the puck.
Perhaps it should have been clear early on that puck luck just wasn’t on the side of the Rock in Game 4.
Rock forward Maxfeld Shin streaked down the slot in the game’s first minute and ripped a shot past Wintle only to have the puck clang off the crossbar.
Moments later, Briir Long beat Cousineau for his 10th goal of the playoffs, putting the Cubs in front 1-0 less than a minute and a half into the contest.
The Rock managed to get back on even terms before the end of the period, however, as Maxx Hamelin scored his ninth goal of the post season.
Puck luck, or the lack of it, came into play again in the second period, as Rock captain Braedyn Cyr rang a shot off the post in behind Wintle only to have the puck narrowly miss the goalie’s stick and blocker on the way out.
The game remained tied at 1-1 heading into the second intermission.
Noah Kohan’s first goal of the playoffs, from a scramble in front of Cousineau, put the Cubs back in front six-and-a-half minutes into the third period.
The Rock were able to get that one back two-and-a-half minutes later when Ryan Armitage took a cross-crease pass from Nolan Masson and netted his sixth goal of the post season.
Kaedyn Long’s overtime game-winning marker was his sixth goal of the playoffs.
After complaining about “too many passengers” in the first three games of the series, Rock coach and general manager Brandon Perry was happy with the effort his players put forth, Wednesday night.
“Our guys played their asses off,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more from that group. The last three games, even Game 1, I thought we were good, but that’s a good hockey team on the other side.”
Indeed, given the Cubs roster features nine players — six forwards, two blue-liners and a goalie — with Major Junior experience, you could almost say the deck was stacked against the Rock and any other team in the NOJHL this season.
“I will bite my tongue,” Perry said, when asked about the stacked roster the Cubs iced in 2025-26.
“They are a good hockey team and it’s not just their talent. Their talent is a lot to handle and they play extremely hard. They are well structured and they are well coached. They are deserving champions.”
Perry wasn’t about to complain about puck luck going against the Rock, either.
“That’s just the game sometimes,” he said. “Our guys played their hearts out and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Perry declined to comment when asked if he had ever seen a penalty shot called with 27.0 seconds remaining in regulation in a playoff game.
“Freddy is so unbelievable,” he said, commenting on the save Cousineau made to get the game to overtime.
“He is such a mature kid. It was a pleasure to coach him. He gave us every chance to win, all season, really, every time he was in there. I am so proud of him and what he did here.
“He got us this close and Mully (backup goalie Ayden Mullen) got some great experience this year when Freddy went down (with a lower-body injury).”
The coach once again liked what he saw from the line of Armitage, Thomas Beard and Masson, Wednesday night.
“They were out best line during the playoffs,” Perry said. “They carried us every night. When we had passengers, they were the ones dragging us into the fight.
“Hamelin and K-Mac (Kaeden McArthur) had the points, they were good, as well, but those three guys were extraordinary. They played hurt, they played sick. They were just so good for us.”
McArthur (upper-body injury), the Rock’s leading goal scorer in the playoffs, was once again unable to play in Game 4 of the series.
Being the second-best team in the NOJHL might be a solid consolation prize for many teams, but the Rock don’t see things that way.
“We are not an organization that is interested in consolation prizes,” Perry said. “We want to win it. If any other team in our league lost the pieces we lost this year, not one of them would be where we are today, that’s all I will say.”
Losing the trio of Brant Romaniuk (24, 22-27-49, 8), Diego Da Silva (34, 29-14-43, 83) and Kimani Eccleston (18, 6-9-15, 26) certainly didn’t help.
Wednesday’s was especially difficult for Cousineau, Beard, Armitage, Masson, McArthur, forward Lucas Lowe, Cyr and fellow blue-liner Brady Bouchard, who all played the last Junior ‘A’ hockey games of their career.
“It is not going to be easy replacing those guys, not so much the players, because we always do a good job of recruiting, but the people,” Perry said.
“I have coached Beardo since he was a kid. To see him grow up to what he is now, I don’t want to cry, but I am so proud of him. The time I have had with Lowesy, what a warrior he has been. I won a championship with those guys.
“They are going to be missed. They were all just fun to coach.”
NOJHL NOTES — The Daily Press three stars of the game were Cousineau (34 saves), Kaedyn Long (game-winning goal) and Wintle (33 saves, win) … Both the Rock and the Cubs went 0-4 on the power play … Official attendance at the McIntyre Arena was 1,255 … The Cubs will now move on to represent the NOJHL at the 2026 Centennial Cup tournament in Summerside, P.E.I., from May 7-17.
