Soo crew hops the Express


By
December 8, 2020
Cole Delarosbil

It will be an early trip home before Christmas for two Sault Ste. Marie lads when the Espanola Express visits the Soo Thunderbirds for a pair of Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League games next week.

The Tuesday, December 15 and Thursday, December 17 games will be part of the second cohort segment of the season for both teams.

Jordan Ritchie

Of note, as part of its Sault Ste. Marie connection, Espanola has a pair of 2001 birth year skaters aboard the Express in forward Cole Delarosbil and defenseman Jordan Ritchie.

Former teammates within the Sault Major Hockey Association ranks at both the AA and AAA levels, Delarosbil and Ritchie are together again in the NOJHL with Espanola.

Delarosbil is in his second season in Espanola while Ritchie signed with the Express as a free agent after spending the 2019-2020 NOJHL season with the now-dormant Elliot Lake Wildcats.

Chad Vresk and Brad Boyer, who are Espanola’s Sault Ste. Marie based scouts, recommended Ritchie to Express general manager Jason Rapcewicz.

The 6-foot-1, 195 pound Ritchie has played in five games for Espanola this season and takes a regular shift on the Express blue line.

As for the 6-foot-1, 190 pound Delarosbil, he has played in all six of Espanola’s regular season games and has two goals, two assists, four points.

The Express played its first six games of the season in cohort with the French River Rapids and posted an impressive record of 3-1-2, good for eight points and first place in the NOJHL’s West Division.

As for the Thunderbirds, the Soo has a record of 1-2-1 from four meetings to date with the Blind River Beavers.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *