FRENCH RIVER – Continuing their solid start to the season, the Soo Thunderbirds jumped out to an early lead and went on the sink the French River Rapids 5-1 Friday in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play at Noelville Arena.
Advancing quickly in transition, Sault Ste. Marie broke out in numbers and opened the scoring nearly three minutes into the matchup when Deven Jones-McDonald finished off a give-and-go with Aiden Atkinson.
Notching another midway through the first period, James Legler put the Thunderbirds ahead by a pair as he pulled up in the high slot and beat French River starter Keiran Caughran with a snap shot that went in blocker side.
A third in the session saw Landon Hill give the Soo a 3-0 cushion heading into the first intermission with an attempt to the target hit off the stick of a defender and went high into the top corner of the net.
Another timely effort in the second stanza, saw the T-Birds swipe the puck at the Rapids’ blueline that saw Shea Chornley go in and be denied by Caughran, but saw him corral the rebound and send a nice back pass to the crease that left a waiting Adam Pszeniczny to bury one into a gaping net for his 10th of the season.
Picking up one more prior to the completion of the period, Jaden van de Ven lifted one through a screen from the left point that rang off the post and went in.
French River eventually solved to Soo’s Cameron Boville 100 seconds into the third thanks to Bryson Villeneuve who ran a point streak to five by picking off a cross-ice pass and going in alone where he wired a shot into the top left corner.
That proved to be the final goal of the night as the Thunderbirds raised their record to 18-8-1-1.
With the loss, the Rapids fell to 4-23-0-1.
