The Stouffville Spirit tried to dig themselves out of a two-goal hole, but the Newmarket Hurricanes held on for a 2-1 victory.

Newmarket made the score 2-0 on a goal by Brandon Francisco at 11:38 in the second period, and Stouffville got as close as 2-1 when Tyson Bruce scored 12:49 into the third period.

The Hurricanes were led by goalie Jophrey Gregoire, who finished with 35 saves while allowing one goal. Gregoire managed to improve on his goals against average, which stood at 4.28 prior to the game.

Newmarket was paced by Francisco, who grabbed one goal and one assist.

The Hurricanes made the Spirit's goaltenders to work hard to keep the puck out of the net, ripping 35 shots and forcing 33 saves. Daniel Mannella made 30 stops and Tim Bester made three.

Curtis Harvey also scored for Newmarket. More assists for Newmarket came via Christian Dedonato and Ian Farrell, who each chipped in one.

Stouffville put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Newmarket to score on any of its four power plays. The Spirit's offense rang up 36 shots on the Hurricanes' net.

Other players who recorded assists for Stouffville were Matthew Heffernan, who had one.

Newmarket incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors. Stouffville incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors.