The Schomberg Cougars tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Huntsville Otters held on for a 5-3 victory.

Huntsville made the score 5-2 on a goal by Sam King at 18:11 in the third period, and Schomberg got as close as 5-3 when JP Crescenzi scored 19:05 into the third period.

With the win, the Otters avoided elimination to make the series score 3-2 in the best of seven series.

King had two goals and one assist to lead Huntsville. King scored the first of his two goals at 41 seconds into the third period to make the score 4-1 Huntsville. Myles York assisted on the tally. King's next tally made the score 5-2 Huntsville with 1:49 left in the third period. York provided the assist.

The Otters excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in five chances.

Others who scored for Huntsville included Jamie Halnan, Nathan Zantingh, and Walker Davison, who each put in one. In addition, Huntsville received assists from Evan Wilding, who had one.

The Cougars put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Huntsville to score on any of its four power plays.

Schomberg was helped by Michael Longato, who finished with two goals and one assist. Longato scored the first of his two goals at 16:30 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Huntsville. Crescenzi picked up the assist. Longato's next tally made the score 4-2 Huntsville with 15:25 left in the third period. Crescenzi assisted on the tally. Schomberg also got points from Crescenzi, who also grabbed one goal and two assists to lead the team in points. More assists for Schomberg came via Derek Neilly, Mitchell Robinson, and Brandon Yorke, who each chipped in one.

Hunter Ferguson recorded 25 saves for the Otters. Huntsville incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors. The Cougars' Taylor Ewart stopped 19 shots out of the 23 that he faced. Schomberg incurred eight minutes in penalty time with four minors.