Fourth Place U18 Greyhounds Fall to Visiting First Place Trappers to Close Out 2024 -

On Saturday, December 28th, the Soo U18 Greyhounds (10-4-3-1) squared off against the North Bay U18 Trappers (16-2) in Great North U18 Hockey League (GNU18HL) action at the John Rhodes Centre in Sault Ste. Marie. The matchup marked the final game of the 2024 calendar year for both teams in the 2024-2025 season.

The opening period set a competitive tone as both teams fought hard but failed to find the back of the net. Defensive prowess and strong goaltending were on full display, keeping the score locked at 0-0 heading into the second period.

The deadlock was broken midway through the second frame when Trappers forward Owen Head netted his sixth goal of the season, giving North Bay a 1-0 lead. Despite their best efforts, the Greyhounds couldn’t solve North Bay’s goaltender Logan Coates in the period, leaving them trailing by one as the third began.

The final period saw a flurry of action and goals. Soo’s Dylan Rousselle evened the score early in the third with his seventh goal of the season, energizing the home crowd and making it 1-1. However, North Bay quickly responded with a pair of goals. Tyler Brunet notched his seventh of the season to regain the lead, followed by Ezekiel Proctor’s second of the year to make it 3-1.

The Trappers extended their advantage to 4-1 when the GNU18HL’s leading scorer added to his tally with a milestone 30th goal of the season. Although Greyhound forward Caleb Walker managed to close the gap to 4-2 with his tenth of the season, North Bay’s Martin Brassard sealed the deal with the final goal of the night, securing a decisive 5-2 victory for the Trappers. North Bay goaltender Logan Coates was a standout, turning aside 32 of 34 shots to earn his 14th win of the season. In contrast, the Greyhounds relied on a tandem effort between netminders Nick Marson and Sebastien Brassard, who combined to stop 28 of 33 shots in the loss.

The win solidifies the Trappers’ position at the top of the GNU18HL standings with a stellar 17-2 record, while the Greyhounds hold steady in fourth place. Both teams will look to build on this momentum as they head into the second half of the season in 2025.

Greyhound coach Jeremy Stevenson told Saultsports that “I think we had several good quality chances and their goaltending was good. We need to capitalize on our Power play chances and limit the big mistakes especially in the third periods. Other than that I thought it was an exciting game and it could have went either way.”

1st
No Scoring

2nd
(0:44) North Bay U18 Trappers – Owen Head (Tyler Brunet)

3rd
(5:53) Soo U18 Jr Greyhounds – Dylan Rousselle (Espen Escasa)
(7:18) North Bay U18 Trappers – Tyler Brunet (Liam Starcevic/Ezekiel Proctor)
(11:56) North Bay U18 Trappers – Ezekiel Proctor (Karter Buchmann)
(12:17) North Bay U18 Trappers – Benjamin Brunton (Ezekiel Proctor/Martin Brassard)
(16:32) Soo U18 Jr Greyhounds – Caleb Walker (Gavin Killoran/Alessandro Parco)
(17:38) North Bay U18 Trappers – Martin Brassard (Benjamin Brunton/Scott Szczygiel)

Goaltenders
Soo U18 Jr Greyhounds – Nick Marson/Sebastien Brassard (28/33)
North Bay U18 Trappers – Logan Coates (32/34)

Next up for the Soo U18 Greyhounds will be on Saturday, January 4th when they take to the ice to face the Sudbury U16 Wolves in an 8:00 p.m puck drop at the John Rhodes Centre. Listen to the Greyhounds versus Wolves on True North Radio.