Over the October 4th and 5th weekend, the Soo U16 Jr. Greyhounds hit the ice for 2025–2026 GN-U18HL season action at home, welcoming the New Liskeard Cubs to the John Rhodes Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie for a competitive two-game set.
Saturday, October 4th – Greyhounds 3, Cubs 2
The season opener was a strong showing for the Jr. Greyhounds, who skated to a hard-fought 3–2 victory.
The Soo opened the scoring at 12:29 of the first period when Logan Watson netted his first of the season on the power play, assisted by Reegan Dezordo. The Cubs answered back late in the frame at 18:54, as Emerik Bray capitalized with help from Uilliam Noll and Ethan Roy, sending the game to the intermission tied 1–1.
The Greyhounds took control in the second period. Ashton Neufeld broke the deadlock at 7:25, finishing off a setup from Ethan Cress and Dezordo. Just four minutes later, Bailey Fitzpatrick extended the lead to 3–1, with assists credited to Watson and Benjamin McKinlay.
In the third, the Cubs narrowed the gap at 8:32 on a goal from Kobe Simpson, assisted by Lukas Daviau and Keiran McCoy, but goaltender Phoenix Bell stood tall for the remainder of the game, backstopping the Soo to their first win of the season.
Goaltenders
Soo U16 Jr. Greyhounds: Phoenix Bell
New Liskeard Cubs: Cooper Peever
Sunday, October 5th – Cubs 3, Greyhounds 0
Game two saw the visiting Cubs bounce back with a 3–0 shutout win. After a scoreless opening period, Morgan Curran broke through for New Liskeard at 3:51 of the second, assisted by Keiran McCoy.
The Cubs sealed the game late in the third. McCoy added an insurance marker at 15:15 with helpers from Owen Robinson and Kyle Cloutier, before Ethan Roy buried an empty-net goal at 17:26 to secure the victory.
Despite solid defensive play, the Jr. Greyhounds couldn’t solve New Liskeard’s goaltending in game two, settling for a weekend split to start their campaign.
Goaltenders
Soo U16 Jr. Greyhounds: Phoenix Bell
New Liskeard Cubs: Morgan Hyndman
“I thought our overall weekend was really good. We were disappointed with today’s loss and with the offence not putting up any goals, but overall it was a good weekend for us to play against older guys get used to the league and now we can go back on video and work on the things we need to work on but overall I think our team effort was there and we’re happy with the split. We’re looking to get better every single day and that’s our goal,” added Greyhound coach Lambert.
Next Action
The U16 Jr. Greyhounds now turn their attention to a northern road trip as they face the U16 North Bay Trappers in a home-and-home series:
Saturday, October 18th – 2:30 p.m. at Memorial Gardens, North Bay
Sunday, October 19th – 9:30 a.m. at Sportsplex, Powassan
With one win already under their belt, the Jr. Greyhounds will look to build momentum and find consistency as the young season continues.
