The Lakeshore Canadiens tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Essex 73s held on for a 7-5 victory.

Essex made the score 7-4 on a goal by Matthew Hebert at 18:47 in the third period, and Lakeshore got as close as 7-5 when Mejoe Gasparovic scored 19:06 into the third period.

The 73s got the win behind a great game by Max Viselli, who had two goals and one assist. Viselli scored the first of his two goals at 13:14 into the first period to make the score 2-1 Essex. Phil Janikowski picked up the assist. Viselli's next tally made the score 3-3 with 19:13 left in the second period. William Stadder assisted on the tally.

Essex forced the Canadiens goalie Colin Tetreault to work between the pipes, taking 45 shots. The 73s' defense let in more goals than it usually has this year. Essex is averaging 1.9 goal against for the season.

Essex also got points from Janikowski, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. Essex also had goals scored by Tyler Boughner, Luke Gecse, and Michael Vieira, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for Essex were Matthew Rosati, who had three and Riley Meyerink, Adam Gaiarin, Matt Zelko, and Dallas Pereira, who each chipped in one.

Lakeshore kept the 73s' goalie busy throughout the game, and Matt Badour made 30 saves on 35 shots.

Lakeshore additionally got points from JJ Percy, who also had one goal and one assist. Others who scored for Lakeshore included Steven Sartor, Brandon Ireland, and Brenden Crundwell, who each put in one. In addition, Lakeshore received assists from Sebastian Kanally, who had two and Kyle Gagnon, Hunter Corp, Dylan Kolic, and Mark MacPherson, who contributed one each.

Essex incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors. Tetreault recorded 38 saves for the Canadiens. Lakeshore incurred 22 minutes in penalty time with six minors.