The Soo U18 Greyhounds put together an impressive three-game road swing over the October 3rd to 5th weekend, earning three straight victories in GNU18HL action against the Sudbury U18 Wolves and the North Bay U16 Trappers. The Hounds showed offensive depth, power play execution, and resilience as they outscored their opponents 20–4 over the three games.
The weekend began on a thrilling note Friday in Sudbury, where the Greyhounds pulled off a 3–2 overtime win against the Wolves.
After a scoreless opening period, the Hounds struck first on the power play at 7:26 of the second, when Dreyon Boissoneau buried his fourth of the season from Nico Bossio and Espen Escasa.
In the third, Boissoneau added his second of the game and fifth of the year at 14:22, again on the power play, with assists going to Escasa and Cameron Kontulainen. The Wolves, however, responded quickly — Gillis O’Daiskey scored shorthanded at 15:30, followed by Denver Mulligan at 16:31 to tie the game and force overtime.
In the extra frame, the Greyhounds sealed the win at 4:34, when Nathan Dupuis netted the game-winner, assisted by Boissoneau, to give the Soo a hard-fought victory on the road.
Game two of the weekend, the Hounds carried that momentum into Powassan for the first of two meetings with the North Bay U16 Trappers on Saturday — and the offense exploded.
After the Trappers jumped out to a quick 2–0 lead in the opening minutes, the Greyhounds responded with an offensive onslaught. Finlay Escasa, Jackson Thornton, and Nico Bossio each scored in the first period to put the Soo up 3–2. The Trappers tied it late on a power play, but the Hounds led 3–3 heading into the second.
From there, it was all Greyhounds. Thornton, Jacob Vincent, Finlay Escasa, Hunter Thorkilson, and Andrew Aikens all found the back of the net in a dominant middle frame that saw the Soo outscore North Bay 5–0.
In the third, Espen Escasa added a pair of goals — one even strength and one on the power play — before Liam Clark capped the scoring at 15:24 to make it 10–3.
Gavin Zuccato and Sebastien Brassard shared the goaltending duties for the Hounds, while Josh Saucier handled the crease for North Bay.
Game three and final game of the road trip, the Greyhounds closed out the weekend with another commanding performance Sunday morning in Powassan, blanking the Trappers 5–0 for their third straight win.
Finlay Escasa opened the scoring at 12:25 of the first on the power play from Cameron Kontulainen. In the second period, Anthony Spironello doubled the lead with help from Finlay Carlson and Andrew Aikens.
The Soo continued to roll in the third — Espen Escasa extended the lead with a power-play goal at 8:05, assisted by Boissoneau and Anthony Carbone. Makks Demidovich made it 4–0 at 11:36, and Hunter Thorkilson capped off the scoring with an unassisted tally at 13:03.
The combined play of the Greyhounds’ goaltenders and tight defensive structure kept the Trappers off the board, securing the shutout and a perfect weekend record.
Greyhound coach Jeremy Stevenson told Saultsports that “the team is coming together more and more every weekend. They competed hard and did a lot of little things right.”
Up next for the Soo U18 Greyhounds return home to face a familiar opponent — the Soo U16 Greyhounds — in a cross-town matchup at the John Rhodes Community Centre. Puck drop is set for 8:00 p.m., as the U18s look to extend their winning streak in front of their home crowd.
