The Hagersville Hawks fell behind early, and the Dunnville Jr. Mudcats kept piling on the points on the way to an 8-2 victory.

The win gave Dunnville a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series.

The Jr. Mudcats got the win on the strength of a great game by Mack Steele, who had one goal and four assists. Steele scored 53 seconds into the first period to make the score 1-0 Dunnville. Evan Huckalo picked up the assist.

Dunnville made Hawks' goaltenders to work without much rest, taking 43 shots and forcing 35 saves. Ian Sylves made 11 stops and Matt Murphy made 24.

Dunnville also got points from Austin Golding, who also finished with one goal and two assists. Others who scored for Dunnville included Landon Minor and Tyler Springer, who scored two goals each and Trevor Smith and Luke Rowe, who each put in one. In addition, Dunnville received assists from Jeff May, who had two and Bret Golding, Ryan Hannigan, and Chad Springer, who each chipped in one.

Hagersville's offense rang up 34 shots on the Jr. Mudcats' net. The Hawks had trouble converting on the power play advantage, managing just two goals on nine chances.

Hagersville also had goals scored by Mitch Green and Aleck Boyd, who scored one goal each. More assists for Hagersville came via Derek Low, Cole Martin, and Derek Medeiros, who contributed one a piece.

Dunnville's Josh Rosettani stopped 32 shots out of the 34 that he faced. The Jr. Mudcats totaled 33 minutes in penalty time with nine minors and one major and went 3-for-8 on the power play. Dunnville ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Golding was ejected from the game. Hagersville incurred 64 minutes in penalty time with 12 minors. For the Hawks, Nick Sherwood was ejected from the game.