Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
On Friday, February 27th, the ninth-place (8-21-2) Soo U16 Greyhounds opened their final regular season road trip of the 2025-2026 Great North U18 Hockey League season with a stop in New Liskeard to face the fifth-place (14-17-1) New Liskeard Cubs at the Don Shepherdson Memorial Arena.
The Soo entered the contest holding a 2-1 head-to-head advantage in the season series, including a 4-3 victory in New Liskeard on January 23rd. Friday’s matchup proved just as tight, with special teams playing a decisive role in a 5-4 Cubs victory.
The Cubs opened the scoring late in the first. At 16:12, Lukas Daviau netted his first goal of the season, assisted by Owen Robinson and Kobe Simpson, giving New Liskeard a 1-0 lead.
The Greyhounds answered on the power play at 19:36. Gage Guzzo scored his 13th of the season with the man advantage, converting passes from Preston Gioia and Reegan Dezordo to send the teams into the intermission tied 1-1.
New Liskeard regained the lead early in the middle frame. At 2:31, Nate Gervais tallied his 10th of the season on the power play, assisted by Ethan Ethier and Emerik Bray, making it 2-1.
The Soo responded at 8:30 when Preston Gioia scored his fifth of the season unassisted, evening the score at 2-2.
The Cubs struck again on the power play at 16:53. Emerik Bray recorded his ninth of the season, with helpers from Nate Gervais and Kyle Cloutier, restoring a 3-2 New Liskeard lead heading into the third.
Special teams continued to dominate the storyline in the final frame.
At 10:08, Kyle Cloutier scored his 15th of the season on the power play, assisted by Nate Gervais, extending the Cubs’ advantage to 4-2.
The Greyhounds answered with a power-play marker of their own at 15:33. Bryson Palahnuk netted his ninth of the campaign, assisted by Reegan Dezordo, cutting the deficit to 4-3.
New Liskeard appeared to put the game away at 18:49 when Keiran McCoy scored his 19th of the season into the empty net, assisted by Brady Krieger, making it 5-3.
However, the Soo refused to go quietly. At 19:32, Logan Watson buried his sixth of the season on the power play, set up by Reegan Dezordo, bringing the Greyhounds within one at 5-4. Despite the late push, time ran out on the comeback bid.
Between the pipes, Greyhounds netminder Phoenix Bell was tagged with his 11th loss of the season. For the Cubs, Copper Peever earned his second win of the campaign between the pipes.
Up next the Greyhounds continue their northern road swing with back-to-back games in Timmins against the Majors on February 27th and 28th. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 9:30 a.m. on Sunday as the Soo looks to close out the regular season on a strong note.
