The Pelham Panthers tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Ancaster Avalanche held on for an 8-7 victory.

Ancaster made the score 8-5 on a goal by Cole Nagy at 31 seconds in the third period, and Pelham got as close as 8-7 when Thomas Young scored 18:53 into the third period.

Owen Norton and Nagy provided the spark for the Avalanche, combining for four goals and three assists. Norton finished with two goals and two assists and Nagy also notched two goals and one assist.

Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 18:15 into the second period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with two game misconducts.

Ancaster forced the Panthers goalie Tyler Caruana to work between the pipes, taking 52 shots. The Avalanche surpassed their usual scoring output this season. Ancaster has scored at the pace of 4.1 goals per game during the current campaign. The Avalanche's defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in three goals.

Ancaster also got points from Nagy, who also grabbed two goals and one assist and Joshua Pace, who also finished with one goal and one assist. Ancaster also had goals scored by Jesse Hilton, Nick Gauvin, and Adam Meijer, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for Ancaster were Lucas Pozzobon, who had three, Dustin Burr, Zach Lawrence, and Owen Burnell, who each chipped in one, and Ben Hughes, Michael Pollice, and Fedor Gordeev, who contributed two each.

Pelham forced its penalty killing units to work especially hard during the game, picking up eight minors and one major for 31 minutes in penalty time. The Panthers surpassed its season average of 25.0 penalty minutes per game. Pelham outdid its season average for goals scored. This season, the Panthers average 2.2 goals per contest.

Pelham was helped by Cameron DeFazio, who registered two goals. DeFazio scored the first of his two goals at 6:19 into the second period to make the score 5-3 Ancaster. Hunter Swain provided the assist. DeFazio's next tally made the score 6-4 Ancaster with 9:46 left in the second period. Swain assisted on the tally. Pelham additionally got points from Jesse Burger, who also tallied one goal and one assist, Adam Petric, who also grabbed one goal and three assists, and Swain, who also racked up one goal and three assists to lead the team in points. Mathiau Young also scored for Pelham. More assists for Pelham came via Jeffrey Venzon, who had two and London Murray, Martin Nowysz, Gary Burley, Zachary Plumb, and Riley Hollowell, who each chipped in one.

Vincenzo D`Elia rejected 19 shots on goal for Ancaster. The Avalanche totaled 17 minutes in penalty time with six minors and one major and went 1-for-6 on the power play. For Ancaster, Tyler Bell was ejected from the game. Tyler Caruana made 44 saves for the Panthers on 52 shots. Pelham registered two goals on five power play opportunities. The Panthers ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and DeFazio was ejected from the game.