The Willmar Cardinals could not stop the Brainerd Warriors' Cole Smith, who tallied a hat trick in a 6-5 win.

Smith's first goal came 4:56 into the first period. He then added goals at 4:29 into the second and at 12:01 into the third.

Brainerd's penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on three Willmar power plays. The Warriors' offense rang up 35 shots on Willmar's net. Brainerd bested its season scoring average. The Warriors have scored at the pace of 3.8 goals per game during the current campaign. Brainerd's defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in two goals.

Brainerd also got points from Christopher Pohlkamp, who also finished with two goals and one assist. Reno Fussy also scored for Brainerd. In addition, Brainerd received assists from Thomas Stoxen, who had one, Jacob Ellingson, who had two, and Logan Rivard, who had three.

The Cardinals managed to stay out of the box better than usual, tallying one minor for two minutes in penalty time. Willmar ended up below its season average of 8.0 penalty minutes per game. The Cardinals got an offensive boost from their blueliners, who contributed two goals during the game.

Willmar was led by Hunter Schneider, who racked up two goals and two assists. Schneider scored the first of his two goals at 13:00 into the second period to make the score 4-3 Willmar. Schneider's next tally made the score 5-4 Willmar with 11:06 left in the third period. Evan VanDenEide assisted on the tally. Others who scored for Willmar included TJ Mattison, who had one and Preston Peterson, who had two. Other players who recorded assists for Willmar were Zech Streed, Cole Hagen, and Ryan Woltjer, who contributed one a piece.

Kyle Helmberger made 21 saves for the Warriors on 26 shots. Brainerd incurred six minutes in penalty time with three minors. Joe Benson recorded 29 saves for the Cardinals.