The Niagara Falls Canucks could not stop the Thorold Blackhawks' Kevin Lavoie, who tallied a hat trick in a 5-4 win.

Lavoie notched his first tally 57 seconds into the first period. He then added goals at 18:59 into the second and at 17:30 into the third.

Thorold pulled out the victory even though it was hit with 32 penalty minutes.

Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 8:49 into the third period. Five fighting penalties were dished out along with three game misconducts.

The Blackhawks' offense rang up 35 shots on Niagara Falls' net.

Sam Berg also scored for Thorold. Other players who recorded assists for Thorold were Brady Allen, Matt Pizzo, Christian Difelice, Joe Mitchell, and Zach McQuade, who contributed one a piece and Ryan Sarris and Kevin Millejours, who each chipped in two.

The Canucks forced Thorold goalie Ian Shorthouse to work between the pipes, taking 32 shots. Niagara Falls got an offensive boost from its blueliners, who contributed three goals during the game.

The Canucks were led by Garrett Gallardi, who grabbed two goals and one assist. Gallardi scored the first of his two goals at 2:27 into the first period to make the score 2-1 Niagara Falls. Cole Vinnai assisted on the tally. Gallardi's next tally made the score 4-4 with 10:45 left in the third period. Vinnai picked up the assist. Niagara Falls also had goals scored by Austin Wright and Marcus Michalski, who each put in one. In addition, Niagara Falls received assists from MacKenzie Wood, who had two and Johnny Curran and Vittorio Giannico, who contributed one a piece.

The Blackhawks' Shorthouse stopped 28 shots out of the 32 that he faced. Thorold registered one goal on six power play opportunities. For the Blackhawks, Berg and Francesco Gigliotti were ejected from the contest. Dylan Pietrangelo made 30 saves for Niagara Falls on 35 shots. The Canucks totaled 20 minutes in penalty time with five minors and two majors and went 1-for-7 on the power play. Team's Wright and Billy Saxton were slapped with misconducts and ejected from the game.