The Niagara Falls Canucks tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Welland Jr. Canadians held on for a 4-2 victory.

Welland made the score 4-1 on a goal by Jason Lacroix at 18:25 in the third period, and Niagara Falls got as close as 4-2 when Johnny Curran scored 19:58 into the third period.

The Jr. Canadians were sparked by Matt Cuglietta, who registered one goal and one assist. Cuglietta scored 14:14 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Welland. Cole McKnight picked up the assist.

Welland excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in five chances. The Jr. Canadians kept the Canucks' goalie busy throughout the game, and Emerson Verrier made 46 saves on 50 shots.

Brayden Stortz also scored for Welland. Other players who recorded assists for Welland were Jack Fitzgerald and Matthew Mateljan, who each chipped in one and Connor Walters and Jimmy Sheehan, who contributed two a piece.

Niagara Falls' offense operated below it season average. The Canucks average 4.3 goals per game. Niagara Falls' penalty killing units received substantial work throughout the game as the Canucks finished with 33 penalty minutes.

Niagara Falls additionally got points from MacKenzie Wood, who also racked up one goal and one assist. In addition, Niagara Falls received assists from Vito Scaringi, who had one and Cole Vinnai, who had two.

Welland's Jeffrey Heartwell stopped 27 shots out of the 29 that he faced. The Jr. Canadians incurred 20 minutes in penalty time with five minors. For Welland, Mateljan was ejected from the game. Niagara Falls ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Scaringi was ejected from the game.