The Essex 73s' Matthew Hebert had a big offensive game, scoring two goals and contributing one assist in his team's 9-6 win over the Amherstburg Admirals.

Hebert's tallies came at 15:30 into the second period to make the score 5-4 Amherstburg and 10:03 into the third to make the score 7-6 Essex.

The win gave Essex a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.

The 73s kept Amherstburg's goalie busy throughout the game, and Arren Romeril made 31 saves on 40 shots. Essex's defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in two goals.

Essex also got points from Matthew Rosati, who also finished with one goal and one assist, Scott Bromley, who also racked up one goal and one assist, and Michael Vieira, who also had one goal and one assist. Essex also had goals scored by Alex Derksen, William Stadder, Phil Janikowski, and Daniel McIntyre, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for Essex were Nick Mainella, Jordan Ryan, Eric Shaw, and Dallas Pereira, who each chipped in one and Tyler Scott and Tyler Turner, who contributed two each.

The Admirals forced 73s' goaltenders to work without much rest, firing 33 shots and forcing 27 saves. Noah Hedrick made 19 stops and Colin Lauzon made eight.

Amherstburg was led by Blake Rutckyj, who tallied two goals. Rutckyj scored the first of his two goals at 14:31 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Mark Sobocan assisted on the tally. Rutckyj's next tally made the score 6-4 Amherstburg with 1:37 left in the second period. Sobocan picked up the assist. Others who scored for Amherstburg included Braden Meloche, Mark Gangnon, Brett Beattie, and Dean Patterson, who each put in one. In addition, Amherstburg received assists from Cody Leeming, who had two and Brett Banwell, Curtis Prymack, Dan Matoski, and Ryan Alexander, who each chipped in one.

The 73s incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors. The Admirals incurred 32 minutes in penalty time with six minors.