The St. Catharines Falcons tried to dig themselves out of a two-goal hole, but the Ancaster Avalanche held on for a 3-2 victory.

Ancaster made the score 3-1 on a goal by Cole Nagy at 19:12 in the third period, and St. Catharines got as close as 3-2 when Brandon Cercone scored 19:28 into the third period.

Jesse Hilton had a great game for the Avalanche, netting two goals. Hilton scored at 13:46 into the first period to make the score 1-1 and again while 11:09 into the second to make the score 2-1 Ancaster.

Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 12:22 into the second period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with two game misconducts.

Ancaster's penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled six minors and one major for 27 minutes in penalty time. The Avalanche had been averaging 24.0 minutes in penalties per game. Ancaster put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow the Falcons to score on any of their six power plays.

More assists for Ancaster came via Blake Luscombe, who had two and Max Balinson, Ryan Cox, and Brennan McLennan, who each chipped in one.

St. Catharines excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in four chances. The Falcons were held below their usual level of production. St. Catharines averages 4.4 goals per game. The Falcons forced the Avalanche goalie Blake Richard to work between the pipes, taking 32 shots.

Tyler Morrison also scored for St. Catharines. In addition, St. Catharines received assists from Brock Ackerman and Paolo De Sousa, who contributed two each.

Ancaster's Richard stopped 30 shots out of the 32 that he faced. For the Avalanche, Michael Faliero was ejected from the game. Ben Csiernik made 16 saves for St. Catharines on 19 shots. The Falcons ended with 23 minutes in penalty time with four minors and one major. For St. Catharines, Cam Blakely and Tyler Hildebrant were ejected from the contest.