The Springfield Jr. Blues tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings held on for a 5-3 victory.

Kalamazoo made the score 5-2 on a goal by Robbie Payne at 16:34 in the third period, and Springfield got as close as 5-3 when Alex Baskakov scored 19:56 into the third period.

The Jr. K-Wings' penalty kill excelled, as Kalamazoo gave up one goal despite allowing six power plays.

The Jr. K-Wings racked up the penalties in the contest, and ended with 15 minors and one major for 65 minutes in penalty time. Kalamazoo surpassed its season average of 17.0 penalty minutes per game. By firing 29 shots on goal, the Jr. K-Wings exceeded the 25.5 shots they average per game this year.

Kalamazoo was helped by Cole Pierce, who had one goal. Pierce scored 5:38 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo also got points from Kyle Gattelaro, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. Kalamazoo also got a goal from Brennan Sanford as well. More assists for Kalamazoo came via Mikhail Bushinski, who had one and Taylor Burden, Brendan Vetter, and Trevor Boyd, who contributed two a piece.

The Jr. Blues were often in penalty trouble, totaling 11 minors and two majors for 92 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 18.0 minutes per game Springfield had been spending in the box. The Jr. Blues' defensemen played well offensively, producing two goals while racking up 19 shots. Springfield put 46 shots on net during the contest, more than the 26.3 it averages per game.

Theo Tydingco also scored for Springfield. In addition, Springfield received assists from Brett Skibba, who had two and Mitch Rogge, Nate Chasteen, and Ryan Atkinson, who each chipped in one.

Alex Okicki rejected 43 shots on goal for the Jr. K-Wings. Kalamazoo registered one goal on six power play opportunities. Team's Christian George and Danny Hamburg were slapped with misconducts and ejected from the game. Ryan Kellenberger made 10 saves before being replaced by Matt Leon, who took the loss and made 14 saves. For the Jr. Blues, Terry Leibo, Parker Johnson, and Alex Jaeckle were ejected from the contest.