Trevor Wheaton had a standout game with 25 saves, and the Essex 73s beat the Blenheim Blades 5-1.

Phil Janikowski had two goals to lead Essex to victory. Janikowski scored on the power play at 17:18 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Essex and again while on the power play 5:44 into the third to make the score 5-2 Essex.

Blenheim's power play was ineffective against the 73s' penalty kill, which allowed zero goals while shorthanded.

Essex forced Blades' goalies to work between the pipes, getting 36 shots and forcing 31 saves. Eric Stewardson made 11 stops and Klinton Kenney made 20. The 73s excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in seven chances.

Essex also had goals scored by William Stadder, Alixe Saliba, and Luke Gecse, who scored one goal each. In addition, Essex received assists from Adam Gaiarin, Matthew Hebert, Tyler Boughner, and Michael Vieira, who contributed one each and Riley Meyerink and Brett Vorshuk, who each chipped in two.

The Blades could not produce up to their normal offensive output. Blenheim puts an average of 4.1 pucks into the net per game. The Blades were forced to rely heavily on their penalty kill unit throughout the game, as they racked up 50 penalty minutes.

Blenheim was led by Kier Cumming, who scored the team's only goal. Cumming scored 10:34 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Essex. Justin Delgado provided the assist.

Essex incurred 14 minutes in penalty time with seven minors.