Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
The Soo Greyhounds and Sudbury Wolves battled through a busy four-game GNU18HL weekend in Sault Ste. Marie from September 25 to 27, with the two clubs producing several tight contests and a pair of overtime finishes.
The weekend featured three games involving the Soo U18 Greyhounds and one matchup between the Soo U16 Greyhounds and Sudbury U18 Wolves.
Friday: Sudbury Takes Comeback Win Over Soo U18
The opening game of the weekend saw the Soo U18 Greyhounds jump out to a 2-0 lead before the Sudbury Wolves rallied for a 4-3 victory.
Rocco Dos Reis opened the scoring at 9:09 of the first period, recording his fourth goal of the season to give the Greyhounds a 1-0 lead.
Soo doubled its advantage late in the opening frame when Nico Bossio scored his fourth of the season at 17:18 on the power play. Finlay Escasa and Bryson Palahnuk picked up the assists.
Sudbury responded in the second period.
Lennox Therrien cut the deficit to 2-1 at 11:07, scoring his second of the season on the power play with assists going to Jaxsin Chatwell and Brayden Baronette.
The Wolves then tied the game at 17:00 when Cooper Niquet scored his third of the season while shorthanded.
Just 90 seconds later, Harry Yeamans scored his first of the season to put Sudbury ahead 3-2 heading into the third.
Yeamans added his second of the game at 9:13 of the third period, tying the game 3-3 with assists from Janssen Fransen and Niquet.
With the game approaching its conclusion, Fransen scored his first of the season at 18:37 into an empty net, with Ty Belanger earning the assist, to secure the 4-3 Sudbury victory.
Tanner Carriere started in goal for Soo, while Nicholas Rocca was between the pipes for Sudbury.
Saturday Afternoon: U16 Greyhounds Fall in Overtime
The Soo U16 Greyhounds met the Sudbury U18 Wolves on Saturday at noon, with the Wolves eventually earning a 5-4 overtime victory.
Sudbury opened the scoring at 10:50 of the first period when Brayden Baronette scored his first of the season, assisted by Cooper Niquet.
Janssen Fransen extended the Wolves’ lead to 2-0 at 13:42 of the second, scoring his second of the season with Hudson Teddy recording the assist.
The U16 Greyhounds answered just under two minutes later.
Lukas Maninos scored his third of the season at 15:30, assisted by Jayden Fisher-Ruck, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Baronette then restored Sudbury’s two-goal advantage at 17:40, scoring his second of the game with assists from Jaxsin Chatwell and Lennox Therrien.
Soo came alive in the third period.
Jasper Jarratt scored his fourth of the season at 3:04 to make it 3-2 before Maninos tied the game at 6:43 with his second goal of the contest and fourth of the season. Gregory Beckerson picked up the assist.
The Greyhounds then completed the comeback at 9:48.
Jarratt scored his second of the game and fifth of the season on the power play, with Maninos collecting his third point of the game and Hayden Brason-Doan also earning an assist.
Sudbury answered at 11:25 when Niquet scored his fourth of the season, assisted by Yeamans, sending the game to overtime.
Just 48 seconds into the extra period, Ty Belanger scored his third of the season to give Sudbury the 5-4 victory. Yeamans and Rocca recorded the assists.
Rocca earned the win for Sudbury, while Lucas Martin was in net for Soo.
Saturday Evening: Wolves Rally to Defeat U18 Greyhounds
The two U18 clubs met again Saturday evening, with Sudbury once again coming from behind to claim a 4-3 victory.
Logan Moran opened the scoring for the Wolves at 5:24 of the first period, scoring his second of the season with an assist from Fransen.
The Greyhounds quickly responded.
Logan Nakani tied the game at 7:01 with his second of the season, assisted by David Francella and Jayden Cranston.
Just 90 seconds later, Bossio gave Soo a 2-1 lead by scoring his fifth of the season. Liam Clark and Myka Venneri picked up assists.
Soo extended its lead early in the second.
At 2:28, Clark scored his third of the season on the power play, with assists going to Dos Reis and Jacob Vincent.
The Greyhounds carried a 3-1 lead into the third period before Sudbury mounted another comeback.
Fransen scored his third of the season at 10:31, assisted by Yeamans.
Moran then tied the game at 12:16, scoring his second of the night and third of the season unassisted.
The Wolves completed the comeback just 67 seconds later when Baronette scored his third of the season unassisted, giving Sudbury a 4-3 lead they would not surrender.
Noah Jylha started in goal for Soo, while Rocca again played for Sudbury.
Sunday Morning: U18 Greyhounds Finish With Overtime Win
The U18 Greyhounds returned to the ice Sunday morning looking for their first victory of the weekend and delivered a dramatic finish.
Brett Archambault opened the scoring for Soo at 10:55 of the first period, scoring his second of the season with an assist from Finlay Carlson.
Sudbury tied the game at 18:26 when Owen Angus scored his third of the season on the power play, assisted by Niquet.
Fransen put the Wolves ahead 2-1 at 4:45 of the second period, scoring his fourth of the season on the power play with Angus earning his third assist of the weekend.
Archambault answered for Soo at 8:44, scoring his second of the game and third of the season. Carlson and Venneri picked up the assists.
The Greyhounds regained the lead at 6:29 of the third when Clark scored his fourth of the season, assisted by Venneri and Palahnuk.
Sudbury once again battled back.
Baronette tied the game 3-3 at 11:35, scoring his fourth of the season with assists from Angus and Belanger.
The game required overtime, where Soo finally secured its first win of the weekend.
At 3:25 of the extra period, Jacob Vincent scored his sixth of the season on the power play, assisted by Escasa and Bossio, giving the Greyhounds a 4-3 overtime victory.
Jylha earned the win in the Soo crease, while Rocca once again tended goal for Sudbury.
Looking Ahead
The U16 and U18 Greyhounds now turn their attention to their upcoming GNU18HL schedules.
The U18 Greyhounds will hit the road for a four-game weekend from October 2 to 4, with stops in New Liskeard and North Bay.
The U16 Greyhounds will have a longer break before returning to GNU18HL action on October 24, when they host the New Liskeard Cubs.
For the U18 Greyhounds, the weekend ended on a high note, as Jacob Vincent’s overtime winner gave Soo a hard-fought victory and closed out a weekend filled with competitive hockey against the Sudbury Wolves.
