The Burlington Cougars survived a determined comeback attempt by the Hamilton Red Wings on the way to a 4-2 win.

Burlington made the score 4-1 on a goal by Jack Jeffers at 18:58 in the second period, and Hamilton got as close as 4-2 when Rylee St. Onge scored 5:50 into the third period.

Steve Mariani was a peerless playmaker for the Cougars, as he dished out four to beat the Red Wings,.

Burlington forced Hamilton goalie Alexander Bishop to work between the pipes, taking 31 shots.

Burlington also got points from David Thomson, who also had one goal and one assist and Jeffers, who also tallied one goal and one assist. Burlington also had goals scored by Jacob Ovens and Michael Alberga, who scored one goal each. More assists for Burlington came via Ryan Sullivan and Zach Anderson, who contributed one each.

The Red Wings managed to stay out of the box better than usual, tallying one minor for two minutes in penalty time. Hamilton finished below its season average of 11.0 penalty minutes per game.

Erick Delaurentis also scored for Hamilton. In addition, Hamilton received assists from Otis Goldman, who had one.

Evgueni Makarski recorded 28 saves for the Cougars. Burlington incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors. The Red Wings' Bishop stopped 27 shots out of the 31 that he faced. Hamilton registered one goal on five power play opportunities.