Maroons open season with a pair of wins

The defending Sutherland Cup champs. It has a nice ring to it.

The Chatham Maroons, who are the reigning Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League champs, opened their 2025-26 regular season with a pair of 5-3 victories on the weekend.

On Sunday, at Chatham Memorial Arena, the Maroons beat the St. Thomas Stars 5-3 in front of a crowd of 869. The Maroons held a pre-game ceremony to hoist their Sutherland Cup banner to the rafters.

Trevor Zanutto had a pair of goals for the Maroons, with Max Skinner, Evan Krell and Carter Chadwick adding singles.

Stars’ goalie Dylan Durno kept the game close—it was 2-2 until the middle of the third period, before Chatham scored three quick goals. Durno faced 61 shots, making 56 saves.

On Saturday, Jaxon Pridle, Ian Lachance Chadwick, Skinner and Zanutto scored for Chatham, in their opening game in Strathroy.

In May, the Maroons won the second Sutherland Cup in franchise history defeating the St. Catharines Falcons.

Seven players are back from that team: Defencemen Josh Harding and Carter Kucher, as well as forwards Dylan Richter, Ian Lachance, Trevor Zanutto, Ewan McChesney and Carter Chadwick.

Chadwick won the GOJHL playoff MVP award after scoring a league-high 15 goals.