MANITOULIN—Samuel Assinewai of (Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation) and his Greater Sudbury Cubs team has won back-to-back Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) championships. The Cubs won the championship by holding off the Hearst Lumberjacks in a hard-fought game seventh and deciding game 6-4 on home ice April 29. Fortunately, Samuel was able to suit up and play for the Cubs in the championship game after having possibly suffered a concussion in one of the Cubs earlier playoff games.
“The last few weeks have been pretty tough for Samuel,” explained his mother, Lauren Abotosaway. “He had taken a couple of pretty hard hits in the previous series against the Sault Ste. Marie team and there were concerns relating to concussion protocols. If he had suffered one more big hit, he may have been out for the season. And one of his friends had passed away recently as well and this had a real effect on him as well. It was definitely a hard, tough time for Samuel.”
Samuel didn’t play in the first six games of the Cubs series against Hearst, “and I know he wasn’t happy missing any games. He didn’t feel he had contributed. He was able to go back in for the last game against Hearst, and from the reaction of his teammates and coaches the team was very excited to have him back. And the team pulled through to win.”
The Cubs were top-seeded going into the playoffs and after two short but tough playoff series, they were definitely tested by Hearst, who had trailed three games to one in the final series at one point.
“You look in that room and we have had our ups and downs, whether on ice or off ice,” Cubs head coach Darryl Moxam (the reigning NOJHL Coach of the Year), told the Sudbury Star. “We just found a way to come back and stay the course.”
For Samuel, the championship means two consecutive championships. He was also named to the NOJHL first team all-star team for this season, last week. The NOJHL Network reported, “An offensive force for the Greater Sudbury Cubs, Samuel played at a clip close to two points per game for the Cub with 72 in 39 regular season contests to finish third in NOJHL scoring. He played well over that rate in his final 24 contests, getting points in each of them. That 24-game point streak was the longest in the league this season. Samuel led all players in power play goals (seven), sat third in goals (34) second in man advantage points (28) and third in game winning markers. In all, he supplied 22 multi-point efforts on the campaign, including a streak of seven straight at one point.
Coach Moxam also told Sudbury Star, “As hard as it was to win the first time, that was probably the best hockey club I have ever played and its unfortunate that one team had to win and one team had to lose, because I think both teams would have had a chance at the next level.”
That next level is the Centennial Cup, being held in Calgary May 8-18. The Cubs Greater Sudbury will be one of nine league champions to join the host Calgary Canucks in vying for the national junior A championship.
“Samuel made it to Calgary with his teammates and is looking forward to playing in the Centennial Cup,” said Ms. Abotosaway, last week.