The Faribault Falcons tried to dig themselves out of a two-goal hole, but the Mankato West Scarlets held on for a 5-4 victory.

Mankato West took a 5-3 lead during the third period, only to have Faribault storm back on a Riley Jandro goal 16:11 into the third period to pull to one goal down.

Derek Frentz had two goals and two assists to lead the Scarlets. Frentz scored the first of his two goals at 16:17 into the second period to make the score 3-3. Scott McKissick assisted on the tally. Frentz's next tally made the score Mankato West with 10:19 left in the third period. Galt Goettl picked up the assist.

Mankato West's defense let in more goals than it usually has this year. The Scarlets give up 1.9 goal per game.

Mankato West also got points from Goettl, who also tallied two goals and two assists to lead the team in points and McKissick, who also registered one goal and two assists. More assists for Mankato West came via Zachary Erickson and Jake Spiess, who contributed one a piece.

The Falcons struggled to stay out of the sin bin throughout the game as they finished the game with 14 penalty minutes for five opposing power plays.

Faribault was helped by Cody Colegrove, who racked up two goals. Colegrove scored the first of his two goals on the power play at 15:02 into the first period to make the score 2-1 Faribault. The Falcons had gotten the advantage when Mankato West's Nicholas Campbell was sent off for cross checking. Luke Thom provided the assist. Colegrove's next tally on the power play made the score 3-2 Faribault with 17:25 left in the second period. Faribault had taken the advantage when the Scarlets' Max Mettler got sent off for high sticking. Christan Von Ruden assisted on the tally. Faribault additionally got points from Logan Murphy, who also grabbed one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Other players who recorded assists for Faribault were Brandon Gray and Connor Wierschem, who each chipped in one.

Mankato West's Spiess stopped 19 shots out of the 23 that he faced. The Scarlets incurred eight minutes in penalty time with four minors. Cody Morsching rejected 19 shots on goal for the Falcons. Faribault registered two goals on two power play opportunities.