The Southern Tier Xpress survived a determined comeback attempt by the Cincinnati Swords on the way to a 5-3 win.

Southern Tier took a 5-2 lead during the third period, only to have Cincinnati storm back on a Gennadi Zabeline goal 9:48 into the third period to pull to two goals down.

The Xpress were led by Elijah Williams, who racked up one goal and one assist. Williams scored 1:15 into the third period to make the score 4-2 Southern Tier. Jake Herrberg provided the assist.

Southern Tier forced its penalty killing units to work especially hard during the game, picking up nine minors and two majors for 48 minutes in penalty time. The Xpress surpassed its season average of 21.0 penalty minutes per game. Southern Tier forced Swords' netminders to work between the pipes, ripping 33 shots and forcing 28 saves. Brandon Kruger made 16 stops and James Schroeder made 12. The defensemen of the Xpress were also effective in the Swords' zone, and came away with two goals.

Southern Tier additionally got points from Herrberg, who also grabbed one goal and one assist, Cody Maulsby, who also finished with one goal and one assist, and Niko Greco, who also registered one goal and one assist. Mark Sunde also scored for Southern Tier. Other players who recorded assists for Southern Tier were Justin Andriaccio, who had one and Victor Mccutcheon, who had two.

Cincinnati excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in four chances.

Cincinnati also got points from Brenden Williams, who also had one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Cincinnati also got a goal from Jessie Fracassi as well. In addition, Cincinnati received assists from Oliver Ahlberg, Andrew Bond, Chris Hubbard, Sid Quincy, and Nicholas Lupacchino, who each chipped in one.

Southern Tier's Tyler Geloneck stopped 22 shots out of the 25 that he faced. The Swords totaled 35 minutes in penalty time with five minors and one major and went 2-for-8 on the power play.