Thunderbirds rally on road

After falling behind early, the Soo Thunderbirds mounted a furious comeback on Sunday evening.

The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League club scored three unanswered goals in the third period to beat the Rayside Balfour Canadians 5-4 in Chelmsford Sunday.

The Thunderbirds trailed 3-1 after 20 minutes and 4-2 with 13 minutes left in regulation time before a three-goal outburst that included a pair of power play markers to pick up the victory.

With the Canadians up by a pair Mike Winn got the comeback started at 7:45 of the third period with his first goal of the season. Austin Kozluk and Sean Emmerson then added power play goals just over four minutes apart for the Thunderbirds.

Matthew Caruso and Keenan Eddy also scored for the Thunderbirds. Caruso and Winn had a goal and an assist each while Zach Senecal assisted on a pair of goals. Goaltender Brandon Gordon made 32 saves.

Kyle Liinamaa paced the Canadians with a goal and two assists offensively. Andre Frappier, Chad Danault and Tristan Simm also scored. Rayside goaltender Cameron Lamour stopped 31 shots.

The Thunderbirds improve to 30-11-1-0 and sit 10 points ahead of the Blind River Beavers in the NOJHL’s West Division. The team also sits in a tie for second overall with the Cochrane Crunch.

Rayside falls to 22-16-3-1 and trail Blind River by three points in the West Division.

The Thunderbirds return to action on Wednesday night in the opener of a three-game homestand. The team will host the Espanola Express in the opener in a 7 p.m. start at the Essar Centre.