The Melfort Mustangs delivered a commanding 7-1 victory over the Greater Sudbury Cubs in Friday’s Centennial Cup quarter-final, advancing to the semifinals with a decisive all-around performance. An early setback The Cubs faced an early setback when their starting goaltender was unavailable. “With Cubs’ netminder Karsen Chartier unable to go, it was Noah Beaulne who got the starting nod for Greater Sudbury while Matthew Vahramian served as the back-up,” said Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) commissioner Robert Mazzuca in a post-game new release. The game Beaulne made several key saves early, but Melfort capitalized on turnovers to build a lead. Kaleb Binner opened the scoring at 6:41 of the first period, firing an unassisted marker from between the circles. Cole Unger doubled the Mustangs’ advantage late in the frame, finishing a transition play with a short-side snipe. The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) champions dominated possession, outshooting the Cubs 24-7 in the first period. Greater Sudbury responded in the second with a power-play goal from Noah Kohan, set up by Alexandre Valade, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Melfort quickly restored momentum, as Ashton Hutchinson and Zac Somers scored power-play and late-period goals, respectively, making it 4-1 after two. Beaulne kept the Cubs in contention early in the third, stoning Tristin Ziola on a breakaway, but Melfort pulled away. Reilley Kotai extended the lead with a strong individual effort, followed by an empty-netter from Bryson Aikens and a power-play blast by Ashton Paul. Melfort outshot Greater Sudbury 40-32 overall. Kohan (Cubs) and Kotai (Mustangs) both earned player of the game honours. Looking ahead to the semi-finals The Mustangs advance to face the Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL) in Saturday’s semifinal at 9:30 p.m. ET. Earlier in the day, the host Calgary Canucks (AJHL) will take on the Rockland Nationals (CCHL) at 6 p.m. ET.
