A hat trick by Adrian Copeland was the highlight in Blackhawks' 6-3 win against the Niagara Falls Canucks.

Copeland's first goal came 14:31 into the first period. He then added goals at 28 seconds into the second and at 19:50 into the third.

The Thorold Blackhawks' penalty kill excelled, as Thorold gave up one goal despite allowing six power plays.

In the losing effort, Niagara Falls was sparked by Darren Young, who had two goals. Young scored the first of his two goals on the power play at 4:15 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Thorold. The Canucks had gotten the advantage when the Blackhawks' Mark Arnone was sent off for fighting. Young's next tally on the power play made the score 4-2 Thorold with 3:03 left in the second period. Brad Kri assisted on the tally.

Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 3:30 into the second period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with two game misconducts.

Thorold forced its penalty killing units to work especially hard during the game, picking up six minors and two majors for 42 minutes in penalty time. The Blackhawks had been averaging 22.0 minutes in penalties per game. Thorold's offense rang up 37 shots on Niagara Falls' net. The Blackhawks found the back of the net more times than it usually has this season. Thorold averages 3.8 goals per game.

Thorold also got points from Myles Falasca, who also registered one goal and one assist. Thorold also had goals scored by Joel Forestell and Tanner Pagendam, who each put in one. In addition, Thorold received assists from Brian Fonseca, Chris Goulet, and Vince Dunn, who contributed one each and Tanner Hildebrandt, Kevin Millejours, and Mackenzie McAvoy, who each chipped in two.

The Canucks excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in three chances. Niagara Falls forced the Blackhawks goalie Brendan Polasek to work between the pipes, taking 35 shots.

Marcus Michalski also scored for Niagara Falls. Other players who recorded assists for Niagara Falls were Tory McLean, Johnny Curran, and Michael Christou, who contributed one each.

Polasek rejected 32 shots on goal for Thorold. For the Blackhawks, Arnone and Pagendam were ejected from the contest. Hunter Johnson made 31 saves for the Canucks on 36 shots. Niagara Falls ended with 18 minutes in penalty time with four minors and two majors. Team's Vito Scaringi and Billy Saxton were slapped with misconducts and ejected from the game.