Matt McGonigle had a standout game with 31 saves, and the Norwich Merchants beat the Simcoe Storm 2-1.

The win by Norwich broke a deadlock and gave the Merchants a 2-1 advantage in the best of seven series.

Simcoe's power play was ineffective against Norwich's penalty kill, which allowed one goal while shorthanded.

Both teams had a hard time staying out of the box, and they combined for 18 penalties during the game.

The Merchants had trouble staying out of the sin bin throughout the game as they finished the game with 33 penalty minutes for 10 opposing power plays. The leading offender was Zach Couwenberg, who totaled 12 minutes in penalty time with one minor and one misconduct.

Norwich was helped by Wes StAmand, who tallied one goal. StAmand scored on the power play 8:44 into the third period to make the score 2-1 Norwich. A unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Jordan Paton had put the Merchants on the power play. Tom Brady provided the assist. Cole Vinnai also scored for Norwich. In addition, Norwich received assists from Nick Burdett, who had one.

Norwich was unable to stop the Storm from sending pucks towards the net, and Simcoe eventually piled up 32 shots on goal. The Storm found themselves short handed often, totaling 19 penalty minutes and allowing five power plays. The leading offender was Pat Fergus, who totaled five minutes in penalty time with one major.

Simcoe was led by Alex Gamble, who scored the team's only goal. Gamble scored on the power play 16:40 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Simcoe. The Storm had gotten the advantage when the Merchants' Curtis Logan was sent off for holding. Braden Shand picked up the assist.

For Norwich, Bryan Phillips was ejected from the game. Alex Gegeny recorded 28 saves for Simcoe. The Storm ran into disciplinary problems during the contest, and Fergus was ejected from the game.