The Stratford Cullitons survived a determined comeback attempt by the Cambridge Winter Hawks on the way to a 5-3 win.

Stratford made the score 5-1 on a goal by Justin Graham at 4:32 in the third period, and Cambridge got as close as 5-3 when Zack Hedley scored 18:27 into the third period.

The Cullitons were paced by Zach Van Louwe, who registered one goal and one assist. Van Louwe scored 1:19 into the third period to make the score 3-1 Stratford. Dylan Lebold provided the assist.

Stratford was often in penalty trouble, totaling seven minors and one major for 59 minutes in penalty time. The Cullitons had been averaging 22.0 minutes in penalties per game. Stratford excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in four chances. The Winter Hawks were unable to stop the Cullitons from sending pucks towards the net, and Stratford eventually piled up 40 shots on goal.

Stratford also got points from Graham, who also had one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Stratford also had goals scored by Joe Leahy, Deven Kropf, and Mathieu Mercier, who each put in one. In addition, Stratford received assists from Anthony Kotsovos, who had two and Cooper Stahl, Zander Pryor, Ken Chisholm, Tyson Baker, and Tanner Hertel, who contributed one each.

Cambridge's penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled six minors and one major for 67 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 27.0 minutes per game the Winter Hawks had been spending in the box. Cambridge's offense rang up 37 shots on the Cullitons' net.

Cambridge also got a goal from Kyle Heitzner as well. Other players who recorded assists for Cambridge were Robert Proner, Nolan Smith, Matt MacKay, Liam Hurley, and Alex Mutton, who each chipped in one.

Carson Poulin rejected 34 shots on goal for Stratford. The Cullitons registered one goal on six power play opportunities. For Stratford, Hayden Broomhead was ejected from the game. The Winter Hawks' Owen Savory stopped 35 shots out of the 40 that he faced. Cambridge ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Raphael Lecours was ejected from the game.