Luke Fulghum scored the go-ahead goal in the first period, and the Denver Cutthroats held off the challenges of the Arizona Sundogs in a tough 2-1 win.

Fulghum provided Denver with the game-winning tally when he scored 1:54 into the the first period. Jean-Philipp Chabot picked up the assist.

The Cutthroats were led by goalie Kent Patterson, who finished with 50 saves while allowing one goal. Patterson managed to improve on his goals against average, which stood at 2.72 prior to the game.

Denver was sparked by A.J. Gale, who racked up one goal. Gale scored 5:30 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Denver. Brad Smyth assisted on the tally.

The Cutthroats stifled Arizona's power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. Denver put 28 shots on net during the contest, more than the 19.2 it averages per game.

The Sundogs' offense rang up 51 shots on the Cutthroats' net.

Arizona was led by Chad Nehring, who scored the team's only goal. Nehring scored 12:00 into the second period to make the score 2-1 Denver. Zack Firlotte provided the assist.

Denver totaled 11 minutes in penalty time with three minors and one major and went 0-for-1 on the power play. David Brown made 26 saves for the Sundogs on 28 shots. Arizona totaled seven minutes in penalty time with one minor and one major and went 0-for-3 on the power play.