Hunter Racine scored the go-ahead goal in the first period, and the Hawkesbury Hawks held off the challenges of the Brockville Braves in a tough 5-3 win.

Hawkesbury took over the lead for good with a goal by Racine at 2:22 in the first period. A cross checking penalty on Eric Israel had put the Hawks on the power play. Chris Harper picked up the assist.

Ross Mandigo had two goals to lead Hawkesbury to victory. Mandigo scored at 12:36 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Hawkesbury and again while 19:07 into the third to make the score 5-3 Hawkesbury.

The Hawks put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Brockville to score on any of its three power plays. Hawkesbury kept the Braves' goalie busy throughout the game, and Mitchell Datz made 29 saves on 34 shots.

Hawkesbury also got points from Racine, who also registered one goal and one assist. Hawkesbury also had goals scored by Pierre Ouellette and Liam Alcalde, who each put in one. More assists for Hawkesbury came via Damien Charette, Jason Brochu, CJ Stubbs, Reid Murphy, Jonathan Cyr, and Phil Johansson, who contributed one each.

Brockville was helped by Dylan McCrory, who racked up one goal. McCrory scored 5:38 into the third period to make the score 4-3 Hawkesbury. Liam Folkes provided the assist. Others who scored for Brockville included Brett Van Stralen and Ethan Weiss, who scored one goal each. In addition, Brockville received assists from Neil Robinson, Tre Folkes, and Sean King, who each chipped in one.

The Hawks' Gunner Rivers stopped 25 shots out of the 28 that he faced. Hawkesbury incurred eight minutes in penalty time with four minors. The Braves incurred eight minutes in penalty time with four minors.