By George, ‘Hounds win
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Goaltender Carter George made 16 saves for his second shutout in five games with the Soo Greyhounds as they defeated the North Bay Battalion 3-0 in an Ontario Hockey League game Saturday night.
Jordan Charron, Justin Cloutier and Travis Hayes, the last into an empty net, scored a goal apiece as Soo won a seventh straight game before a crowd of 4,019.
George, acquired Jan. 7 from the Owen Sound Attack for seven OHL Priority Selection picks, has three shutouts this season and a total of seven in 140 career games. He scored his second career goal in his previous outing, a 5-2 win Wednesday night over the visiting London Knights.
Soo has a won-lost-extended record of 28-14-2 for 58 points, third in the West Division.
Goaltender Jack Lisson stopped 24 of 26 shots for the Battalion, which played the first of back-to-back games at GFL Memorial Gardens.
The Battalion’s 16 shots were a season low, after the team managed 21 in a 4-0 setback Nov. 21 to the host Oshawa Generals in the only other shutout the Troops have suffered.
North Bay, which defeated the visiting Brantford Bulldogs 5-4 in overtime Thursday night, is 24-18-2 for 50 points, second in the Central Division.
Soo erupted for two goals 54 seconds apart midway in the second period, sparked by Charron with his team-leading 23rd goal of the season at 9:30. Off a two-on-one rush, Christopher Brown slipped the puck to Charron at the left side for the redirection.
Cloutier connected at 10:24, taking a backhanded pass from Brady Smith on the end boards and converting from the slot. Callum Croskery also assisted on the first goal by overager Cloutier, who played his second game since returning to the Greyhounds from a months-long recovery from E. coli that ended his freshman season with the Arizona State University Sun Devils after four games.
Upon a challenge by Battalion coach Ryan Oulahen, an apparent Soo goal by Jeremy Martin at 15:31 was negated because of a high stick.
North Bay went on the power play for the only two occasions in the game in the latter half of the third period but couldn’t capitalize.
With Lisson departed for a sixth skater, Hayes fired the puck into the vacant net from his own blue line for his 10th goal at 19:58.
The teams skated through a scoreless first period in which Soo enjoyed a 9-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Battalion set a season low for shots in a period, the previous mark being two, against the visiting Greyhounds on Oct. 30 and the host Sarnia Sting on Nov. 9.
Nick Wellenreiter was set up in the slot in the final minute but fired wide left of George’s net before Lisson produced a solid save to deny Cloutier off the left wing in the closing seconds.
The rematch goes at 2:07 p.m. Sunday. The game can be seen live in North Bay on YourTV Channels 12 and 700.
BATTALION BULLETS: It was the third of four season meetings. Soo took the first two at North Bay, winning 4-3 on Oct. 5 and 4-1 on Oct. 30 … Ryder Cali, acquired in a Sept. 13, 2024, trade with the Greyhounds, made his first appearance at Sault Ste. Marie. Soo made Cali the 18th overall choice in 2024, but he declined to report, playing most of the 2024-25 season with the junior A Milton Menace. Cali, who faced the ’Hounds on Oct. 5 without recording a point, didn’t play Oct. 30 … Shamar Moses played his 100th game since joining the Troops from the Barrie Colts in a trade Oct. 10, 2024 … Five players led North Bay with two shots on goal apiece. Marco Mignosa paced the hosts with five … Soo went 0-for-4 on the power play … Opening lines featured Ethan Procyszyn centring left winger Wellenreiter and right winger Parker Vaughan, Kaden Pitre centring left winger Sebastien Gervais and right winger Lirim Amidovski and Cali pivoting left winger Moses and right winger Cam Warren. Evgeny Dubrovtsev centred left winger Nolan Laird and right winger Ryder Carey … Defence pairs saw Bronson Ride with Brandt Harper, Aaron Enright with Hayden Barch and Jonathan Kapageridis with Kent Greer … The Battalion was without Mike McIvor, Adrian Manzo, Alexander Karmanov, Carter Kunopaski and Arseny Pronin … Among the missing for Soo was Brady Martin, who suffered a shoulder injury with Canada at the World Junior Championship in Minnesota.
