The Cobourg Cougars tried to dig themselves out of a two-goal hole, but the Pickering Panthers held on for a 3-2 victory.

A goal by Tiger McDonald put Pickering up 3-1 in the second period, but Cobourg pulled to within one on Russell Nowry's tally 4:30 into the third period.

The Panthers were paced by McDonald, who racked up one goal. McDonald scored 18:44 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Pickering. Danil Antropov assisted on the tally.

Pickering managed to stay out of the box better than usual, registering one minor for two minutes in penalty time. The Panthers ended up below its season average of 21.0 penalty minutes per game.

Pickering also got points from Davis Kuksis, who also finished with one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Walker Hincenbergs also scored for Pickering. In addition, Pickering received assists from Owen Scuralli, who had one and Doug Carter, who had two.

The Cougars managed to stay out of the box better than usual, racking up one minor for two minutes in penalty time. Cobourg finished below its season average of 15.0 penalty minutes per game. The Cougars' offense rang up 32 shots on Pickering's net.

Cobourg was helped by Mac Lowry, who registered one goal. Lowry scored 11:30 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Cobourg. Ryan Casselman provided the assist. More assists for Cobourg came via Ryan OGrady, Brenden Locke, and Kallen McFarland, who contributed one each.

Troy Paquette rejected 30 shots on goal for the Panthers. Pickering registered zero goals on one power play opportunities. Tyler Lewis recorded 21 saves for the Cougars. Cobourg registered zero goals on one power play opportunities.