Facing elimination, an early deficit was too much to overcome for the Soo Thunderbirds on Wednesday night.
The Greater Sudbury Cubs jumped out to a 2-0 lead en route to a series-clinching 5-0 victory over the Thunderbirds at the John Rhodes Community Centre.
With the win, the Cubs capped off a second-round sweep of the Thunderbirds to advance to the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League final.
Sudbury opened the scoring 3:17 into the game as Samuel Assinewai beat Thunderbirds starter Noah Metivier with a shot from the slot through some traffic in close.
The visitors took a 2-0 lead as Lucas Antonioni redirected a pass at the edge of the crease from Ryan Rubic past Metivier at 5:18.
Metivier was pulled after the goal and replaced by Lincoln Mellenthin but re-entered the game at the start of the second period.
Sudbury extended the lead further as Lucas Signoretti beat Mellenthin from the right faceoff circle on a one-timer on the power play. Signoretti took a pass from Spencer Horgan before beating Mellenthin at 7:49.
Daks Klinkhanmer gave Sudbury a 4-0 lead just over seven minutes into the third period as he skated through the slot and beat Metivier with a backhand high glove side.
With 6:57 to go in regulation, Signoretti grabbed his second goal of the night on an empty net marker after the Thunderbirds pulled Metivier while on the power play.
Metivier stopped 13 of 16 shots in the game while Mellenthin stopped six of the seven shots he faced in relief to close out the opening period.
In addition to the two-goal night from Signoretti, Assinewai had a goal and two assists for Greater Sudbury in the victory.
Karsen Chartier picked up the shutout for the Cubs, who will face the winner of the NOJHL’s other semifinal series. That series features the Hearst Lumberjacks and Timmins Rock with the Lumberjacks holding a 3-1 series lead heading into game five on Friday night in Hearst.