Ryan Maksimovic netted a hat trick to lead the Chicago Junior Bulldogs over the La Crosse Freeze, 4-1.

Maksimovic's first goal came 13:41 into the first period. He then added goals at 4:58 into the second and at 11:48 into the third.

Chicago was led by goalie Troy Pierce, who finished with 46 saves while allowing one goal. Pierce certainly lowered his goals against average, which was 3.88 entering the contest.

The Junior Bulldogs stifled La Crosse's power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. Chicago forced the Freeze goalie Andrew Wagner to work between the pipes, taking 32 shots.

Chicago also got points from Tyler Seltenriech, who also registered one goal and two assists. More assists for Chicago came via Isaiah Sands, who had one and Toms Taurins, who had two.

La Crosse was held below its usual level of production. The Freeze average 3.4 goals per game. La Crosse's offense rang up 47 shots on the Junior Bulldogs' net.

Chicago incurred 14 minutes in penalty time with seven minors. The Freeze's Wagner stopped 28 shots out of the 32 that he faced. La Crosse incurred six minutes in penalty time with three minors.