The New Ulm Eagles tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Orono Spartans held on for a 7-5 victory.

Orono made the score 7-4 on a goal by Alex Gross at 13:14 in the third period, and New Ulm got as close as 7-5 when Brandon Helget scored 15:44 into the third period.

Danny Willson was all over the ice for the Spartans, as he tallied two goals and one assist in the win. Willson scored the first of his two goals on the power play at 4:20 into the first period to make the score 3-1 Orono. A hooking penalty on Mitch Neid had put Orono on the power play. Jake Flemmer assisted on the tally. Willson's next tally on the power play made the score 6-4 Orono with 14:32 left in the third period. The Spartans had gotten the advantage when the Eagles' Cole Dulas was sent off for interference. Joey Luedtke provided the assist.

Orono kept New Ulm's goalie busy throughout the game, and Brach Kraus made 34 saves on 41 shots. The Spartans found the back of the net more times than it usually has this season. This season, Orono averages 3.5 goals per contest. The Spartans was effective with a man advantage, and put in four goals while on the power play. Orono found itself short handed often, totaling 18 penalty minutes and allowing eight power plays.

Orono additionally got points from Flemmer, who also had one goal and four assists to lead the team in points, Sam Challgren, who also finished with one goal and one assist, and Will Dittrich, who also registered one goal and one assist. Trevor Knight also scored for Orono. Other players who recorded assists for Orono were Gavin Payne, who had two.

The Eagles were forced to rely heavily on their penalty kill unit throughout the game, as they racked up 14 penalty minutes.

New Ulm was helped by Blake Neumann, who grabbed two goals. Neumann scored the first of his two goals at 10:47 into the first period to make the score 3-2 Orono. Judd Davis assisted on the tally. Neumann's next tally made the score 4-3 Orono with 10:49 left in the second period. The Eagles earned a power play opportunity when Nick Schroeder was put in the box for tripping. Davis picked up the assist. New Ulm also got points from Wyatt Peterson, who also racked up one goal and one assist. More assists for New Ulm came via Alex Stark, who had one.

Clay Knutsen made 20 saves for the Spartans on 25 shots.