The Exeter Hawks' Chase Thornton scored 6:39 into overtime to beat the Dorchester Dolphins, 7-6 (OT).

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

The Hawks overcame a two-goal deficit to capture the victory. Exeter trailed 5-3 after a power play goal by Dorchester's Bryan McCauley at 5:13 in the third period. The Hawks tied things up at 6-6 on a goal by Chad Brulotte at 19:06 in the third period.

Exeter forced the Dolphins goalie Kent Taylor to work between the pipes, taking 35 shots. The Hawks capitalized on Dorchester's penalties, netting three goals while skating with a man advantage.

Exeter also got points from Tyler Kettler, who also registered one goal and three assists, Jon Baker, who also racked up one goal and one assist, and Trevor Thornton, who also had one goal and four assists. Exeter also got a goal from Tyler McNaughton as well. Other players who recorded assists for Exeter were Austin Carter, Cam Dykstra, and Liam Melady, who each chipped in one.

Exeter was unable to stop the Dolphins from sending pucks towards the net, and Dorchester eventually piled up 51 shots on goal.

Dorchester additionally got points from Wade Russell, who also had one goal and one assist and Ryan Tuffin, who also registered one goal and one assist. Brendon O Shaughnessy also scored for Dorchester. More assists for Dorchester came via Nathan Innes, who had one and Tyler Blue, Chris Carreiro, and Tommy Prokes, who each chipped in two.

The Hawks' James Morreau stopped 45 shots out of the 51 that he faced. Exeter incurred 42 minutes in penalty time with 11 minors. Taylor rejected 28 shots on goal for the Dolphins. Dorchester incurred 12 minutes in penalty time with six minors. The Dolphins ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Mark Brisson was ejected from the game.