Over the October 11th and 12th long weekend, the first-place Soo U15 Greyhounds hosted the third-place Sudbury Wolves for a three-game homestand at the John Rhodes Centre in Sault Ste. Marie in Northern Ontario AAA Hockey League action. The Greyhounds continued their strong start to the season, winning all three games and extending their lead atop the standings.
Game one of the series on October 11th in the afternoon matinee, the series opened with an offensive explosion from both clubs. Sudbury’s Padraig Courtney opened the scoring midway through the first, but the Greyhounds quickly responded with a shorthanded marker from Matti Lappalainen. Jayden Fisher-Ruck and Lappalainen each added goals to give the Soo momentum, while Sudbury’s Emmit DeForge and Max Falcioni replied to keep things close after one period.
The Greyhounds broke the game open in the second with five unanswered goals from Hayden Brason-Doan, Fisher-Ruck, Benjamin Campbell, Lappalainen (shorthanded), and Dante Caruso on the power play. Falcioni added one more for Sudbury, but the Soo held a commanding lead heading into the third. Lukas Maninos added another goal in the final frame, while Sudbury’s Connor Wainio scored late, as the Greyhounds took game one 9–5.
Goaltenders were Carter Rome for the Soo and Max Barros for Sudbury.
Game two was 6:30 p.m with the second matchup of the day where the Greyhounds edged the Wolves in a tightly contested battle.
Lappalainen continued his hot streak, scoring in the first period with assists from Lukas Maninos and Bryce Perrott.
Sudbury struck twice in the second, with goals from Cameron Swartz and Jonathan Croome — the latter coming on the power play — to take a 2–1 lead. The Greyhounds answered quickly with power play goals from Wyatt Jarrett and Gavyn Nevers before Jarrett added another with just seven seconds left in the period to make it 4–2 Soo. Sudbury’s Andre Beaudry cut the lead to one in the third, but the Greyhounds held on for the 4–3 win.
Benjamin Clayton earned the win in goal for the Soo, while Brayden Bouillon tended the crease for Sudbury.
The final game of the weekend was on October 12 at 9:45 a.m with the Greyhounds capped off the weekend with another strong showing to complete the sweep. Jasper Jarratt opened the scoring early in the first, while Lappalainen continued his dominant weekend performance with a hat trick — scoring his seventh, eighth, and ninth goals of the season, including two on the power play. Sudbury’s lone goal came from Cameron Swartz in the second period.
Carter Rome earned the win in net for the Soo, while Barros started again for Sudbury.
With three straight victories, the Soo U15 Greyhounds remain firmly in first place in the Northern Ontario AAA Hockey League standings.
The team’s depth and offensive firepower were on full display, led by standout performances from Lappalainen, Fisher-Ruck, and Maninos.
Next up, the Greyhounds hit the road over the November 1st and 2nd weekend when they travel to Timmins for a three-game series against the Majors at the McIntyre Arena.
