The St. Thomas Stars survived a determined comeback attempt by the xStrathroy Rockets on the way to a 5-4 win.

A goal by Josh Coyle(APM) put St. Thomas up 5-3 in the second period, but xStrathroy pulled to within one on Brett Dalton's tally 8:14 into the third period.

The Stars kept the Rockets' goalie busy throughout the game, and Jack Moylan made 29 saves on 34 shots. Team's forwards weren't the only contributers offensively, and the team's defensemen showcased their scoring touch with three goals.

St. Thomas was led by Braden Hellems, who racked up two goals. Hellems scored the first of his two goals on the power play at 15:20 into the second period to make the score 3-3. The Stars earned a power play opportunity when Dylan Wilson-Foote was put in the box for high sticking. Lucas Triemstra assisted on the tally. Hellems' next tally on the power play made the score 4-3 St. Thomas with 3:49 left in the second period. St. Thomas had gotten the advantage when xStrathroy's Jack Van Boekel was sent off for checking from behind. Triemstra picked up the assist. St. Thomas also had goals scored by Blair Mincer and Spencer Hutchinson, who each put in one. More assists for St. Thomas came via John Warren, who had two and Brett Van Dusen, Alex Morgan, Chris Carreiro, Carson Brookshaw, and Matt Simsons, who each chipped in one.

The Rockets forced the Stars goalie Riley Brown to work between the pipes, taking 37 shots.

xStrathroy additionally got points from Jack Kilgour, who also had one goal and one assist. xStrathroy also got a goal from Ryan Field as well. In addition, xStrathroy received assists from Mike Mandarelli, who had two and Matt Lebert, Dan Chapman, Wes Baker, and Tyler Coleman, who contributed one a piece.

Brown rejected 33 shots on goal for St. Thomas. The Stars incurred 20 minutes in penalty time with five minors. xStrathroy incurred 12 minutes in penalty time with six minors. The Rockets ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Van Boekel was ejected from the game.