The Rayside-Balfour Canadians set the tone early by grabbing a 3-0 lead before the game was six minutes old before going on to an eventual 5-1 triumph over the Espanola Express Thursday evening in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play at Chelmsford Arena.
The Express will take on the Soo Eagles this Sunday at 3pm in the Soo.
Blind River will play two games back to back, on Saturday against the Soo Eagles on home ice, puck drops at 7:30 pm and Sunday on the road against the Rayside Balfour Canadians at 7 pm. The Elliot Lake Wildcats are off this weekend.