The North Stars Academy Wild stormed to a 6-3 victory over the HDC Bandits in a game defined by special teams and a relentless offensive push. The Wild set the tone early, with Ayden Ouellette opening the scoring midway through the first period. Carter Jackson doubled the lead just minutes later, and before the period was out, Braxden Braconnier had made it 3-0. The Bandits were hampered by early penalties, including a major for boarding, which put them on their heels and allowed the Wild to build a commanding lead.
The second period was a chaotic and thrilling back-and-forth. The Wild's Amelia Lydiard Wagner scored what would stand as the game-winning goal just 20 seconds into the frame. The Bandits, however, showed fight. Braydon Rasmussen got the home team on the board, and on a power play, Lucas Dharamsi brought the Bandits within a goal. The Wild's special teams answered emphatically, as Nixon Flintoff netted a crucial shorthanded goal to restore the two-goal cushion. The Bandits' Torin Mowat responded with a power-play marker of his own, but the Wild took a 5-3 lead into the final period.
Any hope of a Bandits comeback was extinguished in the third period when Temple Dudman scored for the Wild to seal the victory. The game was a penalty-filled affair, with the Bandits taking seven infractions to the Wild's four. The goaltending statistics were not tracked, but the shot totals tell a story of offensive pressure, with the Bandits outshooting the Wild 30-22 but failing to capitalize enough to overcome the early deficit and the Wild's timely scoring.
