Tyler VanKleef lifted the Burlington Cougars to a 6-2 victory with a hat trick against the Hamilton Red Wings.

Hamilton's power play was ineffective against Burlington's penalty kill, which allowed one goal while shorthanded.

Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 16:39 into the third period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with three game misconducts.

The Cougars were often in penalty trouble, totaling 10 minors and one major for 45 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 23.0 minutes per game Burlington had been spending in the box. The Cougars forced the Red Wings goalie Allen Avery to work between the pipes, taking 48 shots. Burlington outdid its season average for goals scored. The Cougars average 3.5 goals per game.

Burlington additionally got points from Jeremy Gottzmann, who also registered one goal and two assists. Steven Mueller also scored for Burlington. More assists for Burlington came via Joe Sullivan, who had two, Mark Rodgers, who had three, and Gavin Shantz, Ellery O Hara, Cooper Richards, Shane Conacher, and Luke Sinclair, who contributed one a piece.

Hamilton forced its penalty killing units to work especially hard during the game, picking up 13 minors and one major for 31 minutes in penalty time. The Red Wings had been averaging 23.0 minutes in penalties per game. Hamilton's penalty kill managed to stymie Burlington's power play, giving up only one goal while playing with a man down.

The Red Wings were helped by Wil Pointon, who racked up one goal. Pointon scored 13:06 into the second period to make the score 3-2 Burlington. Alex Perruccio picked up the assist. Hamilton also got a goal from Jordan Merante as well. Other players who recorded assists for Hamilton were Aaron Spivak, Adam Brady, and Nick Scamurra, who each chipped in one.

The Cougars' Alex Murray stopped 28 shots out of the 30 that he faced. For Burlington, Tyler Mayea was ejected from the game. Allen Avery made 42 saves for Hamilton on 48 shots. For the Red Wings, Troy Crema and Alex LeBrosse were ejected from the contest.