Michigan Ice Dogs tried to dig itself out of a four-goal hole, but Detroit Fighting Irish held on for a 6-4 victory.

Detroit Fighting Irish made the score 6-2 on a goal by Shawn Eastman at 4:23 in the third period, and Michigan Ice Dogs got as close as 6-4 when Marc Rotondo scored 15:06 into the third period.

Detroit Fighting Irish got the win behind a great game by James Smith, who had one goal and two assists. Smith scored 18:03 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Detroit Fighting Irish. Joseph Hays provided the assist.

Detroit Fighting Irish excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in three chances. Detroit Fighting Irish forced Michigan Ice Dogs goalie Jacob Mulka to work between the pipes, taking 60 shots.

Detroit Fighting Irish also got points from Eastman, who also had one goal and one assist. Detroit Fighting Irish also had goals scored by Jacob Hernandez, who had two and Ken Winter and Eric Long, who each put in one. Other players who recorded assists for Detroit Fighting Irish were Aaron Robinson, Michael Perry, and Christian Ramage, who contributed one each.

Michigan Ice Dogs forced Detroit Fighting Irish's goalies to work without much rest, launching 32 shots and forcing 28 saves. Jacob Gorzelski made 20 stops and George Hill made eight. Michigan Ice Dogs put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Detroit Fighting Irish to score on any of its three power plays.

Steven Dunn also scored for Michigan Ice Dogs. In addition, Michigan Ice Dogs received assists from Hunter Oatman, who had one and Zachary June, who had two.

Detroit Fighting Irish incurred eight minutes in penalty time with four minors. Jacob Mulka made 54 saves for Michigan Ice Dogs on 60 shots. Michigan Ice Dogs incurred six minutes in penalty time with three minors.