Hounds, Trappers hit the Rhodes
Soo Greyhounds will have the advantage of home ice this weekend as they face off against the North Bay Trappers in a three-game set with first place at stake in the Great North Midget Hockey League.
Games are slated for Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at John Rhodes Community Centre.
Tied for first place with 37 points apiece, the Trappers have an advantage of a different sort with two games in hand on the Greyhounds.
North Bay has a record of 18-2-1 from 21 games. The Soo has a record of 17-3-3 from 23 games.
The Trappers used their home ice to take both head-to-head match-ups with the Greyhounds earlier this season, winning by 6-5 and 6-3 scores.
Lucas Theriault of the Greyhounds, a 2016 Ontario Hockey League draft pick of the Niagara IceDogs, tops the Great North scoring chart with 19 goals, 32 assists, 51 points.
Three other Soo forwards rank third, fourth and fifth in league scoring — Noah Boman has 21 goals, 19 assists, 40 points followed by Caleb Wood at 21-18-39 and Camaryn Baber at 21-15-36.
Baber, a 2001 birth-year skater who is considered a top prospect for the 2017 OHL draft, knows what to expect from North Bay this weekend.
“They are a really good team that is strong on defense,” Baber said of the Trappers. “And their defensemen are also a big part of their offense.”
Still, Baber noted that “if we get the puck behind them and get their defensemen moving, we can be the better team.”
Offensively, the two teams have different styles, Baber pointed out.
“We are a big puck-possession team while they like to dump it in and chase,” Baber noted.
Offensively, North Bay has two forwards tied for eighth place in the GNMHL with 25 points apiece — Joe Whittet has 12-13-25 totals and Nick Davis has 8-17-25 numbers.
As they have the best goals against average in the GNMHL — the Trappers have given up only 38 goals in 21 games while the Greyhounds have allowed 66 in 23 outings — North Bay also boasts a number of puck-moving defensemen, including 2016 OHL draft picks Jake Gravelle (Mississauga Steelheads) and Dylan Bond (Saginaw Spirit.)
Gravelle has 9 goals, 14 assists, 23 points while Bond has 8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points for the Trappers thus far this season.
Meanwhile, North Bay coach Guy Blanchard is looking forward to the three games in the Soo.
“We’re both fighting for position in the standings so both teams need to show up,” Blanchard told HockeyNewsNorth.com. “We don’t expect anything less than 180 minutes of battles…we’re looking forward to some good hockey.”
Noting that both teams are evenly-matched, Blanchard opined that “I think specialty teams will decide the games.”
PHOTO: GNMHL action between the Greyhounds and Trappers from earlier this season in North Bay. (Photo by Chris Dawson.)
Giver!
We all know who has the best Coaching Staff.
Right R.R.?
Go get em Trappers!!!
So much talent on both of these teams they are both great to watch. Seen them both 2 X times this year.