The Hamilton Red Wings tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Buffalo Jr. Sabres held on for a 3-1 victory.
A goal by Collin Farrell put Buffalo up 3-0 in the third period, but Hamilton pulled to within two on Laine McKay‘s tally 19:53 into the third period.
The Jr. Sabres were led by goalie Nate Skidmore, who finished with 29 saves while allowing one goal. Skidmore managed to improve on his goals against average, which stood at 3.6 prior to the game.
Buffalo was helped by Aiden Salerno, who racked up one goal. Salerno scored 8:05 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Buffalo. Chris Moses picked up the assist. Buffalo additionally got points from Farrell, who also registered one goal and one assist. Buffalo also got a goal from Ryan Kuhn as well. Other players who recorded assists for Buffalo were Christopher Berger, who had one.
The Red Wings managed to stay out of the box better than usual, totaling one minor for two minutes in penalty time. Hamilton finished below its season average of 14.0 penalty minutes per game. The Red Wings were held below their usual level of production. Hamilton puts an average of 3.5 pucks into the net per game.
The Jr. Sabres incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors. Mark Sinclair made 19 saves for the Red Wings on 21 shots. Hamilton registered zero goals on two power play opportunities.