Undaunted by a two-goal deficit, the Hamilton Red Wings battled back to claim a 5-4 victory over the Burlington Cougars.

Hamilton let multiple leads slip away before eventually digging out of a two hole to pick up the win. The Red Wings took a 1-0 advantage on a power play goal by Carl Greco at 1:47 in the first period. Hamilton went down 4-2 after Burlington's Steve Mariani put the puck home at 9:24 in the third period. After tying things up at 4-4 on a power play goal by Joel Knight at 13:17 in the third, the Red Wings got the game-winner from Jason OConnor at 14:40 in the third period.

The Cougars' power play was ineffective against Hamilton's penalty kill, which allowed zero goals while shorthanded.

The Red Wings' penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on six Burlington power plays. Burlington was unable to stop Hamilton from sending pucks towards the net, and the Red Wings eventually piled up 45 shots on goal. Hamilton's defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in two goals. The Red Wings were forced to rely heavily on their penalty kill unit throughout the game, as they racked up 24 penalty minutes.

Hamilton additionally got points from Erick Delaurentis, who also had one goal and one assist, Knight, who also racked up one goal and one assist, and Greco, who also registered one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Alex Zaccaria also scored for Hamilton. Other players who recorded assists for Hamilton were Luke Sinclair, who had two and Rylee St. Onge and Laine McKay, who contributed one each.

The Cougars were led by Jack Jeffers, who tallied one goal and one assist. Jeffers scored 15:19 into the second period to make the score 2-2. Mariani assisted on the tally. Burlington also got points from Mariani, who also had one goal and one assist. Burlington also had goals scored by Ben Morris and Mike Choma, who each put in one. In addition, Burlington received assists from Jacob Ovens, who had two and Ben Scheel, Zach Anderson, and Matt Holmes, who each chipped in one.

Alexander Bishop rejected 22 shots on goal for Hamilton. The Red Wings registered two goals on six power play opportunities. Evgueni Makarski recorded 40 saves for Burlington. The Cougars incurred 16 minutes in penalty time with eight minors. For Burlington, Willy Paul was ejected from the game.