The Soo U16 Greyhounds hit the road for a two-game weekend set in GNU18HL regular season play, making stops in North Bay and Powassan to take on the North Bay U16 Trappers over the October 18th–19th weekend. The Greyhounds came out strong in the opener with an offensive surge before battling hard in a close Sunday matchup to close out the northern road trip.
Game One – Saturday, October 18th (North Bay, ON)
The Greyhounds came out firing in Saturday’s matchup, dominating from the opening puck drop.
At 6:17 of the first period, Nolan Lesperance netted his first of the season shorthanded, assisted by Ethan Cress, to give the Soo an early lead. Just minutes later, Ashton Neufeld made it 2–0 with his second of the year, again set up by Cress.
The Soo kept rolling in the second. Bryson Palahnuk scored his first of the season just 32 seconds in, assisted by Rocco Dos Reis, followed by Gage Guzzo’s first of the year at 3:09, assisted by Palahnuk and Simon McLean. The Trappers broke the shutout with a power play marker from Trey Bigelow at 6:08, but the Greyhounds quickly regained control.
In the third, David Francella struck on the power play at 9:24, assisted by Ethan Farquharson and Preston Gioia, extending the lead to 5–1. Cress added a shorthanded goal at 15:10 — his first of the season — before Dos Reis capped off the scoring at 16:24 with his first, assisted by Matti Lappalainen.
Goaltenders
Soo – Phoenix Bell
North Bay – Josh Saucier
Game Two – Sunday, October 19th (Powassan, ON)
In Sunday’s rematch, the Greyhounds faced a determined Trappers squad that bounced back on home ice.
After Lukas Kellar opened the scoring for North Bay at 12:22 of the first, the Soo answered just two minutes later when Gage Guzzo tallied his second of the season from Logan Watson and Bryson Palahnuk. The Trappers then regained momentum with power play goals from Reed Sauve and Trey Bigelow, building a 3–1 lead after 20 minutes.
The second period saw no scoring, but the Greyhounds cut the deficit early in the third when Ethan Farquharson notched his second of the year, assisted by Dos Reis. Bigelow completed his strong game — and his fifth goal of the season — at 8:23 to restore the two-goal lead. The Soo pushed back late, with Preston Gioia scoring his first of the season at 18:49 off helpers from Lappalainen and McLean, but the Trappers held on for the 4–3 win.
Goaltenders
Soo – Ethan Brewer
North Bay – Antoine Ethier
The Soo U16 Greyhounds return home for a midweek showdown on Wednesday, October 22nd, when they take on the Soo U18 Greyhounds in GNU18HL regular season action at the John Rhodes Community Centre, with puck drop set for 8:00 p.m.
