The Moorhead Spuds could not stop the Brainerd Warriors' Jacob Ellingson, who tallied a hat trick in an 8-5 win.

Ellingson got on the scoresheet 6:24 into the first period. He then added goals at 6:59 into the second and at 3:44 into the third.

Brainerd pulled out the victory even though it was hit with 18 penalty minutes.

The Warriors kept Moorhead's goalie busy throughout the game, and Peter MacFarlane made 24 saves on 32 shots. Brainerd found the back of the net more times than it usually has this season. This season, the Warriors average 4.4 goals per contest. Brainerd capitalized on the Spuds' penalties, netting five goals while skating with a man advantage.

Brainerd also got points from Logan Rivard, who also finished with one goal and two assists, Christopher Pohlkamp, who also racked up one goal and four assists to lead the team in points, and Cole Smith, who also tallied one goal and one assist. Brainerd also got a goal from Griffen Campbell as well. Other players who recorded assists for Brainerd were Reno Fussy, who had two and Jed Rusk and Thomas Stoxen, who each chipped in one.

Moorhead was often in penalty trouble, totaling eight minors and one major for 31 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 11.0 minutes per game the Spuds had been spending in the box. With 44 shots on target during the contest, Moorhead exceeded the 2.2 shots it averages per game this year.

The Spuds were helped by Patrick O''Connor, who registered one goal. O''Connor scored 5:47 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Aaron Herdt picked up the assist. Moorhead additionally got points from Alex Mehnert, who also finished with one goal and one assist and Herdt, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. John OConnor also scored for Moorhead. More assists for Moorhead came via Tony Uglem, who had one and Nicholas Uglem, who had two.

Kyle Helmberger recorded 39 saves for the Warriors. Moorhead registered one goal on seven power play opportunities.