The La Crosse Freeze tried their best to erase a three-goal deficit, but the Wisconsin Whalers would not be denied the victory and hung on to win, 4-2.

Wisconsin made the score 4-1 on a goal by Ryan Martin at 18:50 in the second period, and La Crosse got as close as 4-2 when Jace Cseter scored 11:36 into the third period.

The Whalers got the win with help from a great game by Peter Henderson, who had one goal and two assists. Henderson scored 18:01 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Wisconsin. Martin assisted on the tally.

Wisconsin stifled the Freeze's power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. La Crosse was unable to stop the Whalers from sending pucks towards the net, and Wisconsin eventually piled up 57 shots on goal.

Wisconsin also got points from Martin, who also grabbed two goals and one assist. Wisconsin also got a goal from Will Holtan as well. In addition, Wisconsin received assists from Alex Anderson, who had one and Nathan Viberg, who had two.

The Freeze put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow the Whalers to score on any of their five power plays. La Crosse forced Wisconsin goalie David Volkmann to work between the pipes, taking 35 shots.

Jake Lipski also scored for La Crosse. Other players who recorded assists for La Crosse were Hunter Dragosh, Blake Olinyk, Anthony Miller, and Brady Thiering, who each chipped in one.

Volkmann rejected 33 shots on goal for the Whalers. Wisconsin incurred 12 minutes in penalty time with six minors. Cameron Scheuren made 53 saves for the Freeze on 57 shots. La Crosse incurred 22 minutes in penalty time with six minors.