Trappers Edge U16 Greyhounds in Shootout Thriller to Cap Off Weekend to Close Out 2024
The first-place North Bay U18 Trappers (17-2) returned to the ice on Sunday, December 29th, at the John Rhodes Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, following their 5-2 victory over the Soo U18 Greyhounds the previous night. This time, they faced the fifth-place Soo U16 Greyhounds (8-7-0-2) in a tightly contested Great North U18 Hockey League (GNU18HL) matchup that went the distance.
The Trappers struck first in the opening period, with Liam Starcevic netting his sixth goal of the season to give North Bay a 1-0 lead. However, the Soo U16s answered back on the power play, as Wyatt Jarrett scored his ninth goal of the season to tie the game 1-1 heading into the second period.
The Greyhounds capitalized on another power-play opportunity early in the second, with Myka Venneri firing his third goal of the season to put the Soo ahead 2-1. Shortly after, Russell McNally extended the Greyhounds’ lead to 3-1 with his first goal of the season.
The Trappers, determined to stay in the game, responded with Owen Head scoring his seventh goal of the season late in the second period, narrowing the gap to 3-2 heading into the final intermission.
In the third period, the Greyhounds increased their lead to 4-2 with a goal from Makks Demidovich, his seventh of the season. The Trappers, however, showed their resilience. Preston Seguin-Hutchinson scored his second goal of the season to cut the deficit to 4-3, and on a Trapper powerplay Colton Loiselle followed up with his second of the season to tie the game 4-4 and force overtime.
Despite a thrilling five-minute, three-on-three overtime period, neither team could find the back of the net, leading to a shootout. North Bay’s GNU18HL leading scorer delivered in the clutch, scoring the only goal of the shootout to secure a 5-4 victory for the Trappers.
North Bay goaltender Carson Ruddy made 24 saves on 29 shots in the win, while Soo U16 netminder Gavin Zuccato stopped 25 of 30 shots in a valiant effort during the shootout loss.
The Trappers leave Sault Ste. Marie with back-to-back wins, further solidifying their dominance at the top of the GNU18HL standings. Meanwhile, the Soo U16 Greyhounds demonstrated grit and determination, earning a crucial point in a hard-fought contest.
Greyhound coach Ty Zachary told Saultsports that “we had one of the best starts of our season and continued with that energy for almost 2 periods. As a young group we still have a lot to learn about playing 60 minutes of complete hockey. If we have continue to get better at that we will be successful. Very happy with the effort and getting the 1 point out of the game.”
1st
(6:20) North Bay Trappers Liam Starcevic (Owen Head/Karter Buchmann)
(19:28) Soo U16 Greyhounds – Wyatt Jarratt (Jacob Vincent/Finlay Carlson) (PP)
2nd
(5:54) Soo Greyhounds – Myka Venneri (Jacob Vincent/Finlay Carlson) (PP)
(14:02) Soo Greyhounds – Russell McNally (Wyatt Jarratt/Nico Bossio)
(16:48) North Bay Trappers – Owen Head (Liam Starcevic/Ezekiel Proctor)
3rd
(7:44) Soo Greyhounds – Makks Demidovich (Unassisted)
(10:59) North Bay Trappers – Preston Seguin-Hutchison (Colton Loiselle)
(12:26) North Bay Trappers – Colton Loiselle (Jackson Culin) (PP)
OT
No Scoring
The Greyhounds next opponent will be the seventh place Sudbury U16 Wolves on Sunday, January 5th at the Northern Community Centre in a 10:30 a.m start. Listen to the Greyhounds versus Wolves on True North Radio.
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