Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos

The Soo U16 Greyhounds opened the 2026 portion of their GNU18HL season on the road over the January 3rd and 4th weekend, squaring off against the Sudbury U16 Wolves in a back-to-back set at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Arena.

Saturday night’s opener saw the Wolves take early control of the game, striking three times in the first period, including a powerplay goal from Alex Proulx and a shorthanded marker by Ty Belanger, to build a 3–0 lead. The Greyhounds responded in the second period when Benjamin McKinlay found the back of the net at 13:43, with assists from Bryson Palahnuk and Gage Guzzo. Sudbury answered back late in the period and added an insurance goal in the third to secure a 5–1 victory. Ethan Brewer and Noah Jylha handled the goaltending duties for Soo and Sudbury, respectively.

Sunday morning’s rematch saw a stronger start from the Greyhounds, as Gage Guzzo opened the scoring at 7:03 of the first period, finishing a play set up by Rocco Dos Reis and Benjamin McKinlay. The Wolves responded in the second period with four goals in just over ten minutes to swing momentum back in their favor. Soo showed resilience late in the period with David Francella scoring to cut the deficit, but Sudbury pulled away in the third with two more goals, including a powerplay marker, to claim a 6–2 win. Phoenix Bell was in net for the Greyhounds, while Nicholas Rocca earned the start for the Wolves.

The Greyhounds will return to GNU18HL action on Saturday, January 10th, when they host the Thunder Bay Kings at the John Rhodes Centre in Sault Ste. Marie with a 9:00 a.m. puck drop. Meanwhile, the Wolves will travel to Timmins to face the Majors later that day with a 7:30 p.m. start.