In a game where neither team could get a cushion, the Whitby Fury escaped with a 5-4 victory over the Cobourg Cougars.

Whitby gained the winning advantage on a goal by Peter Neal 14:47 into the third period and hung on until final buzzer.

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

Whitby was paced by Neal, who tallied one goal and one assist.

The Fury made Cougars' goalies to work all game long, racking up 32 shots and forcing 27 saves. Emerson Verrier made 20 stops and Keinan Brown made seven. Whitby managed to stay out of the box better than usual, finishing with one minor for two minutes in penalty time. The Fury ended up below its season average of 11 penalty minutes per game. Whitby's defense let in more goals than it usually has this year. The Fury average one goal allowed per game.

Whitby also got points from Brad McAllister, who also racked up one goal and one assist. Steven Deeg also scored for Whitby. Other players who recorded assists for Whitby were Chris Raguseo, Brian Hubers, Connor Hale, Nick Neal, Mike Hennessey, Charles Cooper, Matt Davis, and Ryan Logan, who contributed one each.

Cobourg kept Whitby's goalie busy throughout the game, and Tyler Feaver made 28 saves on 32 shots.

The Cougars were led by Nick Marinac, who grabbed one goal and one assist. Marinac scored 4:55 into the second period to make the score 3-2 Cobourg. Connor Armour provided the assist. Cobourg got a goal from Colbie Andrews as well. In addition, Cobourg received assists from Anton Zupancic, who had two and Franco Loparco, Justin Danforth, and Derek Foote, who each chipped in one.

The Fury registered zero goals on two power play opportunities. Cobourg incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors.