Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos

In their final game of the 2026 Steve Richey Tournament of Champions in Peterborough, the Soo Greyhounds closed out their weekend on Saturday, January 17th with a matchup against the Ajax-Pickering Raiders in U18 AAA hockey action.

The Greyhounds opened the scoring midway through the first period. At 6:32, Makks Demidovich found the back of the net for his second goal of the tournament, finishing a play set up by Hunter Thorkilson and Anthony Spironello to give Soo an early 1–0 lead. Ajax-Pickering responded later in the frame, tying the game at 3:01 when Jax Conklin scored his second of the tournament off assists from Nathan White and Evan Giannone.

Despite chances at both ends following the equalizer, the game remained deadlocked, with goaltenders Sebastien Brassard for Soo and Malcolm Rose for the Raiders holding firm to keep the score level through the remainder of the contest.

Greyhound coach Jeremy Stevenson told Saultsports that “I think the players battled and after tying the number one team in Ontario it shows that we can compete with any team. What we learned is that we cannot take a game off and we have to play the same no matter who we play. This is a confidence boost for them and I’m excited to hopefully get a full line up towards playoffs.”

With tournament play now complete, the Greyhounds turn their attention back to regular season action. Soo will return home to Sault Ste. Marie to host the North Bay U16 Trappers at the John Rhodes Centre over the January 23rd and 24th weekend, with puck drops scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.