The St. Thomas Stars gutted out a close 4-3 win against the Strathroy Rockets.

St. Thomas gained the winning advantage on a goal by Braden Hellems 15:22 into the third period and hung on until final buzzer.

The Stars was paced on offense by John Warren and Hellems, who combined for four points. Warren finished with two goals and one assist and Hellems also added one goal.

St. Thomas' penalty kill excelled, as the Stars gave up zero goals despite allowing six power plays.

St. Thomas stifled Strathroy's power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man.

St. Thomas additionally got points from Mitch Klie, who also tallied one goal and one assist. Other players who recorded assists for St. Thomas were Lucas Triemstra, Ryan Hamelin, Brett Van Dusen, and Josh Coyle(APM), who each chipped in one.

The Stars were unable to stop the Rockets from sending pucks towards the net, and Strathroy eventually piled up 45 shots on goal. The Rockets struggled to stay out of the sin bin throughout the game as they finished the game with 30 penalty minutes for six opposing power plays.

Strathroy was led by Colin Hartwick, who registered two goals and one assist. Hartwick scored the first of his two goals at 17:43 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Shawn Grogan assisted on the tally. Hartwick's next tally made the score 2-2 with 16:31 left in the second period. Strathroy also got a goal from Nick Boyer as well. In addition, Strathroy received assists from Jack Van Boekel, who had one.

Riley Brown recorded 42 saves for St. Thomas. The Stars incurred 20 minutes in penalty time with 10 minors. Tynan Lauziere made 22 saves for the Rockets on 26 shots.