The Denver Cutthroats tried their best to erase a two-goal deficit, but the Allen Americans would not be denied the victory and hung on to win, 2-1.

Allen took a 2-0 lead during the second period, only to have Denver storm back on a Brad Smyth goal 4:40 into the third period to pull to one goal down.

The Cutthroats were stymied by the Americans netminder Aaron Dell, who stopped 30 shots during the victory. Dell managed to improve on his goals against average, which stood at 1.93 prior to the game.

Allen made Cutthroats' goaltenders to work hard to keep the puck out of the net, racking up 31 shots and forcing 29 saves. Kent Patterson made 29 stops and Kieran Millan made zero. The Americans excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in four chances.

Allen was helped by Nino Musitelli, who racked up one goal. Musitelli scored 17:11 into the second period to make the score Allen. Mike Berube provided the assist. Allen also got a goal from Jarret Lukin as well. More assists for Allen came via Anthony Maiani and Adam Pineault, who contributed one a piece.

The Denver penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled six minors and one major for 17 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 14.0 minutes per game the Cutthroats had been spending in the box. Denver put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow the Americans to score on any of their five power plays. The Cutthroats could not produce up to they normal offensive output. Denver averages 3.3 goals per game. The Cutthroats relied on a core group of players for most of their offense, as A.J. Gale, Troy Schwab and Aaron MacKenzie took 16 of the team's 31 shots.

In addition, Denver received assists from Gabriel Beaupre and Luke Fulghum, who each chipped in one.

Allen ended with 28 minutes in penalty time with four minors and two majors. The Americans ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Jason Deitsch was ejected from the game.