Beaulne backstops Cubs to win in Centennial Cup finale
Greater Sudbury Cubs (NOJHL) goaltender Noah Beaulne turned aside all 22 attempts he faced, while Cameron Shanks and Marshall McCharles both tallied twice, to send them on their way to a 6-0 shutout victory over Collège Français Longueuil (LHJAAAQ) Wednesday afternoon in a Centennial Cup contest, presented by Tim Hortons, at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.
Greater Sudbury came out hard to begin the match-up, putting pressure on the Quebec AAA Junior Hockey League champions, with Mason Chitaroni blasting a shot off the post for the club’s best early chance.
The Cubs’ Beaulne was sharp in thwarting Longueuil’s initial scoring opportunity, coming across his crease to deny a two-on-one.
A second attempt hit iron for the NOJHLers, with Shanks ripping one from the slot that eluded Collège Français starter Mathis Lacroix-Goulet but rang off the left post and sailed wide.
Eventually finding the back of the net midway through the first period, Greater Sudbury took the lead when Matteo Signoretti worked the puck free along the end boards and shoveled a feed in front to Ben Lacroix who jammed in a backhand from the top of the crease.
Buoyed by a boisterous throng of local school children on hand cheering them on, the Cubs went up by a pair at 13:20 as McCharles powered his way down the right wing, then drove hard to the net, and stuffed his chance through the legs of Lacroix-Goulet.
After Beaulne kept Longueuil at bay in the initials stages of the second stanza, Greater Sudbury’s Justin Seguin picked off a clearing attempt in the neutral zone then darted through a trio of defenders and whipped a rising attempt into the left corner to make it 3-0.
The continued contributions of Beaulne kept the scoreline the same after 40 minutes of play.
In the third, Shanks notched his second of the day as he corralled a play in front, then spun at close-range and pumped one top shelf to extend the Cubs’ cushion.
Capping off the result during a man advantage, McCharles lifted in another, while defenceman Mason Chitaroni skated in and fired one upstairs at even strength, in the late going, to finalize the one-sided result.
Earning player of the game nods for their respective clubs were Beaulne and Thomas Bourbonnais.
