Manitoulin’s Biedermann hat trick leads Cubs over Red Wings

SUDBURY, Ont. – Billy Biedermann scored three times to collect his initial Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League hat trick and added an assist to lift the Greater Sudbury Cubs to a 6-4 triumph in a chippy affair vs. the visiting Elliot Lake Red Wings Thursday at the Gerry McCrory Summerside Sports Complex.

Following a pre-game Remembrance Day ceremony, the visiting Red Wings would open the night’s scoring five and a half minutes in off a solid forecheck that set-up Charlie Wesholowski in the right circle where he fired a shot into the top corner for his first NOJHL goal.

Countering with the equalizer near the midway mark of the first, Greater Sudbury forced a turnover and following a flurry of chances, Biedermann banked in a backhand on a sprawled Elliot Lake netminder, Ryder Gregga.

Coming right back, the guests regained the lead off a nice back pass from behind the net that found Aidan Leblanc, who chipped a bouncing puck over the pad of the Cubs’ Joel Rainville, from the right of the crease.

Moving to the second stanza, the home side drew level on a delayed penalty in the first minute as Seth Coulter put a shot on net that clipped off the glove of Gregga, bounced off the top of the net and out front where a hard-charging Pierson Sobush stuffed in his seventh of the season.

Going back on top, Jovani Moses clicked on the power play for Elliot Lake as he redirected a Leblanc pass from the left of Rainville at 14:24.

Drawing level once more, the Cubs Cameron Walker converted, with his club up a skater six minutes into the third, as he wheeled to the middle of the ice and whipped a shot through Gregga’s pads from the high slot.  

It was more from Walker on another Greater Sudbury man advantage a few minutes later as he scooped up a rebound off his own attempt then cut behind the net and put a feed in front that that banged in by Biedermann from in close.

Greater Sudbury kept coming with Ben Harris putting through a maze in front from the left point at 10:44.

Biedermann then notched his third of the night as he finished off a cross-crease attempt from Sobush with five and a half minutes remaining.

Elliot Lake did get one back before time expired as Leblanc picked off a clearing attempt and finished off a second chance to cap the scoring on the evening.

Shots on goal on the night favoured the Cubs 40-27 with Rainville getting the win while Gregga suffered the loss.