ESPANOLA, Ont. – Joel Rainville of the Espanola Express stopped all 44 shots he faced to register his first Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League shutout as his efforts helped his side blank the Hearst Lumberjacks 3-0 Sunday afternoon at the Regional Recreation Complex.
The match-up was tightly contested throughout most of the match-up, including a scoreless first frame.
It also remained without a goal well into the second stanza before Espanola’s Lukas Lyszyk struck shorthanded at 18:49 with an unassisted effort that gave the home side a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes.
Heading to the final stanza, Cameron Walker added to the Express lead at 9:03 as he collected his seventh marker of the campaign.
Hearst would pull their starter, Liam Oxner, late for an extra attacker and while also on the another power play, but Tyler Nelson would secure the decision with a man-down empty netter to wrap up the victory.
Oxner faced 37 shots in defeat for the Lumberjacks.
