The Soo U18 Greyhounds were firing on all cylinders as they hit the highway for a three-game road trip to Sudbury, posting a perfect 3–0 record with wins over the Sudbury U18 Wolves on January 30, followed by back-to-back victories against the Sudbury U16 Wolves on January 31 and February 1 in GNU18HL action.
Game one on January 30th, the Greyhounds opened the road trip in dominant fashion, building an early lead and holding off a third-period push from the Sudbury U18 Wolves.
The Soo struck first at 5:48 of the opening period when Anthony Spironello netted his 7th goal of the season, scoring unassisted to make it 1–0. At 12:43, Jackson Thornton doubled the lead with his 11th of the season, assisted by Hunter Thorkilson. The Greyhounds capped off a strong first period at 14:45 as Espen Escasa buried his 27th of the season, with helpers from Nico Bossio and Hunter Thorkilson, giving Soo a 3–0 advantage.
In the second period, special teams took over. At 2:25, on the power play, Makks Demidovich scored his 14th of the season, assisted by Nico Bossio and Dreyon Boissoneau. Later at 14:29, another Soo power-play marker made it 5–0 as Espen Escasa notched his 28th of the season, with assists from Frankie Reda and Hunter Thorkilson.
The Greyhounds continued rolling early in the third. At 6:46, while shorthanded, Hunter Thorkilson scored his 16th of the season, assisted by Anthony Carbone and Nathan, extending the lead to 6–0. Sudbury responded with three straight power-play and even-strength goals from Logan Moran, Gillis O’Daiskey, and Khade Metatawabin, cutting the deficit to 6–3.
Soo regained momentum at 14:22 when Nathan Dupuis scored his 12th of the season, assisted by Dreyon Boissoneau, before Sudbury closed out the scoring at 14:47 with a goal from Brady Carriere, assisted by Emmett Croome and Harry Yeamans.
Gavin Zuccato earned the win in goal for Soo, while Jayden Claveau and Owen Lamothe shared duties for Sudbury.
Game two on January 31st, the Greyhounds returned to the ice the following night at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Arena and continued their success against the U16 Wolves.
Soo opened the scoring at 5:26 of the first period as Hunter Thorkilson scored his 17th of the season, assisted by Nico Bossio and Liam Clark. Sudbury answered back at 7:04 with a goal from Malik Jakubo, assisted by Nicholas Christakos, sending the game to the intermission tied 1–1.
In the second period, the Greyhounds reclaimed the lead on the power play at 4:35 when Espen Escasa scored his 29th of the season, assisted by Nathan Dupuis and Dreyon Boissoneau. Sudbury responded at 10:57 with a power-play goal from Alex Proulx, assisted by Tayden Smith, tying the game 2–2.
Momentum swung back to Soo just 41 seconds later as Nico Bossio scored his 22nd of the season, assisted by Espen Escasa and Hunter Thorkilson. At 15:32, the Greyhounds added insurance on the power play when Frankie Reda netted his 19th of the season, with Espen Escasa picking up his 41st assist, giving Soo a 4–2 lead.
Sudbury made things interesting in the third at 8:48 when Alex Proulx scored his 22nd of the season, assisted by Lennox Therrien and Jackson Mead. However, the Greyhounds sealed the win at 19:14 with an empty-net goal by Espen Escasa, his 30th of the season and second of the game, assisted by Andrew Aikens and Jackson Thornton.
Sebastien Brassard picked up the win in goal for Soo, while Noah Jylha tended the net for Sudbury.
In their game of the road trip in Sudbury on February 1st took place Sunday morning, with the Greyhounds looking to complete the sweep—and they did just that.
Soo struck early at 2:23 of the first period as Anthony Spironello scored his 8th of the season, assisted by Aiden Giovanatti and Espen Escasa. At 16:49, Finlay Carlson made it 2–0 with his 11th of the season, assisted by Anthony Spironello and Aiden Giovanatti.
The second period saw the Greyhounds explode offensively. At 3:44, defenseman Dreyon Boissoneau scored his 12th of the season, assisted by Liam Clark and Hunter Thorkilson. Just 24 seconds later, Nathan Dupuis added his 13th of the season, assisted by Dreyon Boissoneau and Makks Demidovich, making it 4–0.
At 5:10, Espen Escasa continued his hot streak with his 31st of the season, assisted by Nico Bossio and Hunter Thorkilson. Sudbury answered with goals from Merik Maillet and Alex Proulx, cutting the lead to 5–2, before Escasa closed the period scoring at 19:51 with his 32nd of the season and second of the game, assisted by Hunter Thorkilson.
In the third, Espen Escasa completed the hat trick at 17:19 with his 33rd of the season, assisted by Aiden Giovanatti, making it 7–2. Sudbury added two late goals from Alex Proulx and Nicholas Christakos, but the Greyhounds skated away with a 7–4 victory.
Sebastien Brassard once again earned the win for Soo, while Nicholas Rocca was in goal for Sudbury.
With the three victories, the Soo U18 Greyhounds completed a flawless Sudbury road trip and continued their strong GNU18HL campaign.
The Greyhounds will return to action with a rare Thursday evening matchup as they play host to the Thunder Bay Kings on Thursday, February 5, at the John Rhodes Centre, with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m.
