The New Hamburg Firebirds survived a determined comeback attempt by the Norwich Merchants on the way to a 3-2 win.

New Hamburg made the score 3-1 on a goal by Kory Nowak at 4:07 in the third period, and Norwich got as close as 3-2 when Kurtis Lavis scored 10:12 into the third period.

With the win, the Firebirds evened the series at 1-1 in the best of seven showdown.

New Hamburg was sparked by Nowak, who racked up one goal.

New Hamburg additionally got points from Jerry Ennett, who also registered one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Andrew Boer also scored for New Hamburg. Other players who recorded assists for New Hamburg were Quinten Haddock, Brandon Quan, Chris Eckert, and Jaden Goetz, who each chipped in one.

The Merchants were ineffective while on the power play, as they were held to two goals off of nine man advantages.

Norwich was helped by Jamie Kelly, who tallied one goal. Kelly scored on the power play 17:20 into the first period to make the score 1-1. The Merchants had gained a power play chance when Nowak was whistled for holding stick. Drake Morrell picked up the assist. In addition, Norwich received assists from Braeden Shand, who had one and Mitchell Berzins, who had two.

Ryan Purcell rejected 26 shots on goal for the Firebirds. New Hamburg incurred 22 minutes in penalty time with 11 minors. Norwich's Patrick Maziarz stopped 23 shots out of the 26 that he faced. The Merchants incurred 14 minutes in penalty time with seven minors.