The Stratford Cullitons tried to dig themselves out of a four-goal hole, but the Kitchener Dutchmen held on for a 7-5 victory.

A goal by Connor Cole put Kitchener up 7-3 in the second period, but Stratford pulled to within two on Jack Scanlan's tally 17:01 into the third period.

The Dutchmen forced the Cullitons' goalies to work between the pipes, taking 37 shots and forcing 30 saves. Carson Poulin made 25 stops and Nick Redman made five.

Kitchener was led by Jason Willms, who grabbed three goals. Kitchener also got points from Cole, who also racked up two goals and one assist and Adam Kawalec, who also registered one goal and one assist. Logan Schmidt also scored for Kitchener. More assists for Kitchener came via Matthew Cruickshank, Alex Demrovsky, and Nathan Grossi, who contributed one each and Tyler Klein, Austin Gaboury, and Jeremy Kuehn, who each chipped in two.

Stratford's offense rang up 31 shots on the Dutchmen's net.

Stratford additionally got points from Zach Van Louwe, who also finished with one goal and two assists to lead the team in points. Stratford also got a goal from Hayden Broomhead as well. In addition, Stratford received assists from Joe Leahy, Anthony Kotsovos, and Tristan Hohl, who contributed one each and Quinton Haddock and Justin Graham, who each chipped in two.

Luke Richardson recorded 26 saves for Kitchener. The Dutchmen incurred 16 minutes in penalty time with eight minors. Kitchener ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Zachary Masterson was ejected from the game. The Cullitons incurred 16 minutes in penalty time with eight minors.