Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
The Soo U16 Greyhounds endured a tough weekend on February 7th and 8th in Sault Ste. Marie, dropping both games to the first-place North Bay U18 Trappers in GNU18HL regular-season action. Entering the series, the Greyhounds sat ninth in the standings at 7-19-2, while the Trappers arrived as the league’s dominant top seed with a 29-1 record.
In game one on Friday, February 7th, North Bay set the tone early in the opening contest, opening the scoring at 8:23 of the first period when Francis Popkie notched his 32nd goal of the season, assisted by Scott Szczygiel, to give the Trappers a 1–0 lead.
The visitors extended their advantage early in the second period. At 2:56, Philippe Lafontaine scored his 21st of the season with assists from Liam Starcevic and Cedar Montreuil. Just over eight minutes later, Jayson Synnott made it 3–0 at 11:01, converting a feed from Lafontaine and Starcevic.
The Greyhounds responded at 13:27, as Alexander Priem got the Soo on the board with his seventh goal of the season, assisted by Nolan Lesperance and Ethan Cress. North Bay answered quickly, restoring the three-goal cushion at 15:03 when Brayden Hanam scored his first of the season off an assist from Starcevic, sending the Trappers into the third period up 4–1.
North Bay pulled away in the final frame. At 1:12, Lafontaine struck again with his 22nd of the season and second of the game, assisted by Montreuil and Starcevic. William Fournier followed with goals at 4:45 and 13:12, scoring his 19th and 20th of the season, assisted by Francis Popkie and Aydin Beharie on the first, and Brayden Hodges on the second. At 14:22, Caleb Moyer added a power-play goal, his fifth of the season, with assists from Fournier and Hodges.
The Greyhounds closed out the scoring late, as Priem netted his second of the game and eighth of the season at 17:48, assisted by Matthew Circelli, bringing the game to its 8–2 final.
Logan Coates earned the win for North Bay, stopping 18 of 20 shots. Ethan Brewer made 35 saves on 43 shots in the loss for the Greyhounds.
The teams met again Sunday morning at the John Rhodes Centre in a more physical contest, with the Greyhounds looking to bounce back.
Soo struck first on the power play just 2:04 into the game. Gage Guzzo opened the scoring with his 11th goal of the season, assisted by Ashton Neufeld and Logan Watson. North Bay responded quickly, tying the game at 3:32 when William Fournier scored his 21st of the season off assists from Francis Popkie and Scott Szczygiel. At 5:30, the Trappers took the lead for good, as Kobe Gravelle scored his first of the season, again set up by Popkie and Szczygiel, to make it 2–1 after one.
The second period saw North Bay take control. Guzzo briefly pulled the Greyhounds closer at 2:30 with his second power-play goal of the game and 12th of the season, assisted by Preston Gioia and Neufeld, cutting the deficit to one. However, the Trappers responded immediately. Brayden Hodges scored at 4:22, assisted by Montreuil and Mathias Moar, followed by Fournier’s 22nd of the season at 5:54, assisted by Popkie and Szczygiel.
North Bay continued to pour it on, with Liam Starcevic scoring at 8:22 off assists from Lafontaine and Montreuil. Francis Popkie then added two more goals, scoring unassisted at 11:25 for his 33rd of the season, and again at 15:08 for his 34th, assisted by Fournier and Szczygiel. Brayden Hodges also recorded his second of the game at 14:31, assisted by Starcevic and Jayson Synnott, pushing the score to 9–2 after two.
The lone goal of the third period came on the power play at 13:06, when Philippe Lafontaine scored his 23rd of the season, assisted by Miguel Brunette, to round out the scoring.
Phoenix Bell stopped 34 of 43 shots for the Greyhounds in the loss, while North Bay’s goaltender turned aside 18 of 20 shots to earn his 15th win of the season.
The Soo U16 Greyhounds will look to regroup quickly as they return to the ice for a midweek matchup against the U18 Greyhounds at the John Rhodes Centre, with puck drop scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
