SUDBURY, Ont. – A five-game slate of NOJHL preseason play Saturday saw the Hearst Lumberjacks; Powassan Voodoos; Soo Thunderbirds; Espanola Paper Kings and Iroquois Falls Storm skate to victories.
HEARST LUMBERJACKS 10 KAM RIVER FIGHTING WALLEYE (SIJHL) 3
After being edged 3-2 by Kam River Friday, Hearst was all business from the onset Saturday against the defending Superior International Junior Hockey League Bill Salonen Cup title holders, banging in five goals before the contest was 13 minutes old.
A trio of tallies put the Lumberjacks up three with the matchup being just over a minute old thanks to early efforts from Mathieu Comeau, Keenan Quenneville and Ty McKay.
That spelled a rapid goaltending change with Walleye starter Brady Lowe leaving in favour of backup Sam Keene.
Comeau collected another near the midway point of the first period before Nico Simeoni put the visitors on the board.
Hearst however made it a 5-1 game after one as Cole Sheperdson clicked for the hosts.
Another from Simeoni for his second of the day got the guests a bit closer only to see Hugo Allard and Sam Taylor make it 7-2 after 40 minutes.
Comeau’s third, in the final frame, Ty Seymour and Allard put the result out of reach before Simeoni capped off a hat trick to round out the scoring.
Lumberjacks’ starter Alexandre Boivin picked up the win making 30 saves in the triumph.
Keene made 15 stops in relief for Kam River while Lowe gave up six on a dozen chances in a losing cause.
POWASSAN VOODOOS 4 KIRKLAND LAKE GOLD MINERS 1
In a neutral site affair in New Liskeard, Powassan got goals from four different skaters to get past Kirkland Lake.
Bradley Begley; Anthony Boyes; Frank Popkie and Jesse Lefebvre put the Voodoos up by four after 40 minutes of play.
The Gold Miners’ lone marker on the night came from Owen O’Grady early in the final frame.
Sharing the netminding duties for Powassan were Derrick Champagne and Matthew Lyon as the duo combined to make 42 saves in the victory.
Splitting the start for Kirkland Lake were Brian Rathwell and Jayden Claveau as they saw a total of 30 shots in a losing cause.
SOO THUNDERBIRDS 5 SOO EAGLES 1
A well-balanced offensive output saw five different players score for the Thunderbirds in the triumph at Taffy Abel Arena.
Devin Jones-McDonald and Landon Hill gave the T-Birds a two-goal cushion through one period of play.
After Carter Huckson put the Eagles on the board in the middle stanza, the Thunderbirds countered with markers from Gavin Killoran and Callum McAuley in the latter portions of the session.
Capping off the scoring for the T-Birds was Aiden Atkinson during a power play midway through the third.
Cameron Boville and Nathan McGuire handled 32 of 33 in the win for the Thunderbirds while Dalton Hoornstra and Sanchez Tate saw 48 shots sent their way in the setback.
The two clubs will play again Sunday in a 4:30 p.m. start at John Rhodes Community Centre.
ESPANOLA PAPER KINGS 4 FRENCH RIVER RAPIDS 2
The Paper Kings capped off a weekend home-and-home weekend sweep with the Saturday triumph at the Regional Recreation Complex.
Nolan McVeigh gave French River the lead with lone effort in the opening period.
Armando Rojo-Boulton then made it 2-0 Rapids in the second stanza, only to see Joseph Coates and Carter Drigo pull the home side even after two.
Espanola then got the eventual game-winner with 4:15 remaining in regulation off the stick of Carter Makasoff.
Lucas Dubois then secured the result in the late going to finish off the night’s scoring.
Jack Helkie was busy in the Paper Kings’ net making 43 saves in the victory.
Equally solid was the Rapids’ Matis Bureau-Morel, who saw 40 shots put on him in defeat.
IROQUOIS FALLS STORM 3 TIMMINS ROCK 1
Iroquois Falls got by Timmins 3-1 for a second straight evening at Jus Jordan Arena.
Kaeden McArthur did give the Rock an early edge with a man advantage marker in the first frame.
Benjamin Coupal got that back for the Storm late in the stanza.
Another from Coupal midway through the third period proved to be the game-winner for the home side before Owen Goodwin sealed the deal with an empty netter in the final seconds to conclude the scoring.
Picking up the win in net for Storm was Alex Hall while Ayden Mullen suffered the narrow defeat.
All NOJHL games are streamed live via FLOHockey.tv, the league’s official broadcast partner.
NOJHL preseason results and upcoming games:
| Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League | ||||
| 2025 Preseason Schedule/Results (As of September 6) | ||||
| DATE | VISITOR | HOME | TIME | VENUE/RESULT |
| Friday, Aug. 22 | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners | Lindsay Muskies | Final | 3-1 Gold Miners |
| Saturday, Aug. 23 | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners | King Rebellion (OJHL) | Final | 5-3 Rebellion |
| Sunday, Aug. 24 | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners | Pickering Panthers | Final | 3-0 Panthers |
| Tuesday, Aug. 26 | Timmins Rock | Powassan Voodoos | Final | 5-2 Rock |
| Tuesday, Aug. 26 | Collingwood Blues (OJHL) | Timmins Rock | Final | 7-1 Blues |
| Tuesday, Aug. 26 | Newmarket Hurricanes (OJHL) | Powassan Voodoos | Final | 7-1 Hurricanes |
| Wednesday, Aug. 27 | Collingwood Blues (OJHL) | Powassan Voodoos | Final | 5-2 Blues |
| Wednesday, Aug. 27 | Timmins Rock | Newmarket Hurricanes (OJHL) | Final | 2-0 Hurricanes |
| Wednesday, Aug. 27 | No. 4 Powassan Voodoos | No. 1 Collingwood Blues | Final | 5-2 Blues |
| Wednesday, Aug. 27 | No. 3 Timmins Rock | No. 2 Newmarket Hurricanes | Final | 4-0 Hurricanes |
| Thursday, Aug. 28 | Powassan Voodoos | Timmins Rock | Final | 3rd place game: 4-1 Rock |
| Sunday, Aug. 31 | Hearst Lumberjacks | Iroquois Falls Storm | Final | 3-0 Lumberjacks |
| Wednesday, Sept. 3 | Iroquois Falls Storm | Hearst Lumberjacks | Final | 7-2 Lumberjacks |
| Thursday, Sept. 4 | Blind River Beavers | Greater Sudbury Cubs | Final | 3-2 Cubs |
| Friday, Sept. 5 | Espanola Paper Kings | French River Rapids | Final | 7-4 Paper Kings |
| Friday, Sept. 5 | Kam River Fighting Walleye (SIJHL) | Hearst Lumberjacks | Final | 3-2 Walleye |
| Friday, Sept. 5 | Timmins Rock | Iroquois Falls Storm | Final | 3-1 Storm |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | Kam River Fighting Walleye (SIJHL) | Hearst Lumberjacks | Final | 10-3 Lumberjacks |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners | Powassan Voodoos | Final | 4-1 Voodoos |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | Soo Thunderbirds | Soo Eagles | Final | 5-1 Thunderbirds |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | French River Rapids | Espanola Paper Kings | Final | 4-2 Paper Kings |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | Timmins Rock | Iroquois Falls Storm | Final | 3-1 Storm |
| Sunday, Sept. 7 | Soo Eagles | Soo Thunderbirds | 4:30 p.m. | John Rhodes Community Centre |
| Monday, Sept. 8 | Blind River Beavers | French River Rapids | 7 p.m. | Noelville Arena |
