Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos

The Soo U16 Greyhounds entered day two of the 2026 Steve Richey Tournament in Peterborough looking to bounce back after opening the tournament with a narrow 4–3 loss to the Grey Bruce Highlanders on Thursday, January 15th. Sitting at 0–1, the Greyhounds took the ice Friday afternoon, January 16th, for a 1:15 p.m. matchup against the North York Rangers, followed later in the evening by an 8:15 p.m. contest against the Niagara North Stars.

In the afternoon game against North York, the Greyhounds set the tone early and never looked back. At 6:45 of the first period, Ethan Farquharson opened the scoring to give the Soo a 1–0 lead, finishing a play set up by David Francella. The momentum continued late in the period when Matti Lappalainen doubled the lead at 2:54, converting on a feed from Logan Watson to send the Greyhounds into the first intermission up 2–0.

The Greyhounds carried their strong play into the second period, tightening defensively and generating sustained pressure in the offensive zone. At 9:38, Nolan Lesperance made it a 3–0 game, capitalizing on an opportunity created by Reegan Dezordo to further extend the Soo advantage.

Early in the third period, Matti Lappalainen struck again, scoring his second goal of the game at 10:37 with an unassisted effort to give the Greyhounds a commanding 4–0 lead. North York managed to break through shortly after, as Lucas Russo scored at 10:05 with an assist from Theo Vigliotta, but it would be the Rangers’ lone marker of the game.

Ethan Brewer was solid in goal for the Greyhounds, turning aside the Rangers’ chances and anchoring a strong defensive performance. Avery Grahlman handled the goaltending duties for North York in the loss.

With the win, the Soo U16 Greyhounds evened their tournament record and built momentum heading into their second game of the day. The Greyhounds were set to return to the ice Friday night at 8:15 p.m. to face the Niagara North Stars as round-robin play continued at the 2026 Steve Richey Tournament in Peterborough.

At 8:15 p.m. in Peterborough, the Soo U16 Greyhounds hit the ice facing a must-win situation as they took on the Niagara North Stars at the 2026 Steve Richey Memorial Tournament of Champions. With one round-robin game still remaining on Saturday, January 17th, the Greyhounds needed a victory to keep their hopes alive of advancing beyond the round-robin stage.

Niagara opened the scoring midway through the first period at 12:43, when Ethan Rousseau netted his second goal of the tournament off a setup from Gabriel Salvaggio. The North Stars doubled their lead late in the frame, as Sam Lagrotteria scored his first of the tournament at 2:50, assisted by Joshua Bertrand and Spencer Tomczuk, giving Niagara a 2–0 advantage after one.

The North Stars carried their momentum into the second period, striking just 37 seconds in. Spencer Tomczuk made it 3–0 with his second goal of the tournament, finishing a play from Caden Petrovsky and Kohen Chrastina. Niagara continued to control the pace in the third period, extending their lead on the power play at 7:19 when Jacob Greene scored his first of the tournament, assisted by Bertrand and Evan Shaver.

Soo finally broke through on the power play at 4:43, as Logan Watson scored his first goal of the tournament, assisted by Ashton Neufeld, cutting the deficit to 4–1. Any chance of a late push was halted in the final seconds, however, when Niagara added a shorthanded goal at 0:09. Nathan Hewitt scored his first of the tournament, with Tomczuk earning the assist, sealing the 5–1 final.

Phoenix Bell handled the goaltending duties for the Greyhounds, while Michael Matakovic earned the win in net for the North Stars. With the loss, the Greyhounds were officially eliminated from playoff contention at the 2026 Steve Richey Tournament. Soo will round out tournament play on Saturday, January 17th, when they face the Ajax-Pickering Raiders at 1:15 p.m. in their final round-robin matchup.