U18 Trappers cannot maintain early momentum at Central Regionals

Randy Pascal

2026-04-06

For two games at least, the North Bay AAA Trappers looked very much the part of contenders at the 2026 U18 AAA Central Region Championship last week in Markham.

Unfortunately, they sputtered somewhat from game three to the finish line of round robin play, posting a record of 1-4-0 and missing out of semi-final action by two points.

Competing in a format that rewards regulation time victories with three points, with two for an overtime win, the Trappers edged the host Markham Waxers 4-3 in their curtain-riser as Cedar Montreuil drilled home his second of the game, in OT, for the win.

Down 2-0 after two, North Bay rallied in the third on tallies from Montreuil, Karter Buchmann and Francis Popkie, forcing the extra frame and setting the stage for overtime heroics.

Overtime was almost a factor in game two as well as the Toronto Titans edged the Trappers 3-2, with Cedar Montreuil and Francis Popkie handling the offense for the GNML representatives.

Facing the eventual tournament champions in game three, the North Bay lads saw things completely unravel in the third period against the Waterloo Wolves as a 3-0 deficit after two gave way to a 9-1 loss, with Popkie sniping his third in as many games.

Bouncing back in game four, the Trappers found themselves deadlocked at 2-2 with Ottawa Myers Automotive with 70 seconds of play before surrendering a pair of late goals, beaten 4-2 as Francis Popkie and Jayson Synnott hit the mark for the northern crew.

Needing an upset win over the North Shore White Caps to secure a place in the final four, the Trappers again keep things close, tied 2-2 after two before losing steam in the third, handed their fourth loss in five games with the scoreboard reading 6-2 in favour of the Caps.

William Fournier opened the scoring and Francis Popkie made it five for five as Waterloo tripled Markham 6-2 in their semi-final affair, trimming North Shore 5-4 in OT for gold while the Toronto Titans overcame the heartbreak of a 3-2 semi-final loss to the White Caps, clipping the Markham Waxers 4-3 in the battle for bronze.