The Greater Sudbury Cubs are beginning to find the secondary scoring that was so crucial to their 2023-2024 NOJHL championship run - and that could spell trouble for the remainder of the northern league.

Just one week after having a 13-game winning streak snapped in Hearst (the Cubs were doubled 6-3 by the second place Lumberjacks), the locals bumped their new run to three straight games with a 3-2 win over the Soo Thunderbirds.

While it was the trio of Cameron Shanks (G), Nolan Newton (A) and Noah Kohan (A) that broke the ice on Thursday less than five minutes following puck drop at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex, it was the newly formed unit of Samuel Assinewai, Lucas Signoretti and Daks Klinkhammer that took care of the rest.

Assinewai increased the lead for the homeside to 2-0 as the former member of the Flint Firebirds drilled home his 13th of the year at the 2:26 mark of period two.

"We played on the northern swing together," noted Assinewai, his line getting their feet wet against Hearst, Timmins and Iroquois Falls last weekend. "I think we're all trying to play the right way and the puck is going in for us."

"We're all skilled, so as long as we play the right way, we'll be fine."

But as we have come to know well over the years, few are the Soo Thunderbirds' teams that roll over and die. A tally on a fortunate bounce late in the second was credited to Jacob Smith, opening the door for the visitors who pulled even when James Legler converted on the power play 8:50 into the third.

With former Sudbury Cubs' netminder and third star Noah Metivier clearly on top of his game in his 100th NOJHL start (he would finish with 34 saves), the T-Birds had made things interesting.

"The Sault is always tough for us," admitted Assinewai. "We've played them the past two years in the playoffs and they always seem to have our number. They're just a tough team over there - and they work hard."

Matching that effort pretty much every step of the way, Sudbury was rewarded when Daks Klinkhammer slammed home the first goal of his NOJHL career, a game-winner no less, with Assinewai and captain Mason Chitaroni drawing the assists and the clock displaying just slightly more than three minutes to play.

Trailing only defending league scoring champion Lucas Signoretti (32) in the Cubs point parade, Assinewai (13G-14A) understands, however, that the real growth in his game is not likely to be measure in offensive production.

"I would like to get my defensive game going even more," said the native of Little Current. "I'm working on it, but sometimes, I am not great at defense."

Now five points clear of Hearst at the top of the NOJHL standings, the CUbs will take their 17-2-1-1 record into a road rematch this afternoon with the 10-10-1-0 Thunderbirds before returning home to host the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners (2-16-0-2) on November 21st.