The Buffalo Jr. Sabres and the Hamilton Red Wings were evenly matched throughout their contest, but Buffalo made the most of its opportunities and won, 8-6.

The Jr. Sabres gained the winning advantage on a goal by Ryan Schmelzer 11:25 into the third period and hung on until final buzzer.

Buffalo got the win on the strength of a great game by Nathan Pelligra, who had two goals and two assists. Pelligra scored the first of his two goals at 16:52 into the first period to make the score 2-1 Buffalo. Derek Patterson picked up the assist. Pelligra's next tally made the score 5-4 Buffalo with 6:39 left in the second period. David Seward provided the assist.

Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 3:55 into the third period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with two game misconducts.

The Jr. Sabres forced their penalty killing units to work especially hard during the game, picking up seven minors and one major for 29 minutes in penalty time. Buffalo surpassed its season average of 16.0 penalty minutes per game. The Jr. Sabres' offense rang up 43 shots on Hamilton's net. Buffalo outdid its season average for goals scored. This season, the Jr. Sabres average 4.3 goals per contest.

Buffalo additionally got points from Tim Kielich, who also racked up one goal and one assist, Sean Federow, who also tallied one goal and one assist, and Brian Ruff, who also registered one goal and one assist. Buffalo also got a goal from Ben Casale as well. Other players who recorded assists for Buffalo were Nolan Sheeran, who had two, Josh Kielich, who had three, and Tyler Gjurich and Pat Egan, who each chipped in one.

Buffalo was unable to stop the Red Wings from sending pucks towards the net, and Hamilton eventually piled up 40 shots on goal. The Red Wings surpassed their usual scoring output this season. Hamilton has scored at the pace of 3.2 goals per game during the current campaign. The Red Wings found themselves short handed often, totaling 27 penalty minutes and allowing six power plays.

Hamilton was helped by Dylan Hutton, who grabbed two goals and one assist. Hutton scored the first of his two goals at 6:28 into the second period to make the score 3-3. Sam Berg picked up the assist. Hutton's next tally made the score 5-5 with 1:50 left in the second period. A hooking penalty on Pelligra had put the Red Wings on the power play. Adam Brady assisted on the tally. Hamilton also got points from Brady, who also racked up one goal and three assists to lead the team in points, Berg, who also finished with one goal and two assists, and Patrice Fozo, who also registered one goal and one assist. Niko Porikos also scored for Hamilton. More assists for Hamilton came via Spencer Hyman and Wil Pointon, who contributed one a piece.

The Jr. Sabres' Bobby Bloomfield stopped 34 shots out of the 40 that he faced. For Buffalo, Alex Dagnal was ejected from the game. Bret Gilmore rejected 35 shots on goal for Hamilton. The Red Wings registered two goals on seven power play opportunities. Hamilton ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Denis Fontyn was ejected from the game.