Thunderbirds fall to Express

They fell behind early and couldn’t recover.

The Soo Thunderbirds trailed 3-1 through 20 minutes in a 4-2 Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League loss to the Espanola Express in Espanola on Saturday night.

Josh Boucher, Matais Salem, and Tyler Nelson scored in the opening period and Diego Pasula sealed the win with a goal in the final period for the Express.

Robert Malucci assisted on a pair of Espanola goals.

Express goaltender Andrew Rocha stopped 28 shots.

Avery Rebek paced the Thunderbirds offensively with a goal and an assist.

Jacob Kovacs had the other Thunderbirds goal.

Goaltender Dakota Meyer stopped 21 shots.

The loss drops the Thunderbirds record to 8-9-1-2 while Espanola improves to 6-11-1-0.

The Thunderbirds return to action on Wednesday night at home against the Elliot Lake Wildcats. Puck drop at the John Rhodes Community Centre is set for 7 p.m.