The North Stars Academy Wild skated to a decisive 7-4 victory over the Riggers Hockey Academy in a game defined by special teams and relentless offense. The Wild set the tone early, with Patrick Huntly opening the scoring just under six minutes into the first period. The Riggers responded quickly, as Nate Sinatynski buried an even-strength goal to tie the game. However, the North Stars capitalized on their first power play opportunity, with Ryder Chapman and Remy Wattie scoring in quick succession to give the Wild a commanding 3-1 lead after the opening frame.
The second period was a chaotic and thrilling display of shorthanded and power-play brilliance. Wyatt Kolibab stunned the home crowd by scoring a shorthanded goal for the Wild, but the Riggers answered right back on the same power play, with Jaxen Cronkhite finding the net. The back-and-forth action continued as Ayden Ouellette scored what would stand as the game-winning goal for the North Stars just seconds later. Riggers' Ryder Cross then netted a power-play goal to keep his team within reach, but the period ended with the Wild holding a 5-3 advantage. The final frame saw Nate Sinatynski net his second of the game for the Riggers, but any hope of a comeback was extinguished as Patrick Huntly scored his second of the contest and Grady Schwab added an insurance marker to seal the 7-4 win for the visiting North Stars.
Despite the high score, the game was a tale of two goaltending performances where statistics were not officially tracked, leaving the narrative to the sheer volume of shots. The North Stars' Grady Wright faced 25 shots from the Riggers, while Julien Jolicoeur Gagnon of the Riggers was tested by a barrage of 36 shots from the Wild. The game was also heavily influenced by penalties, with a combined 11 infractions leading to multiple power-play goals for both sides. In the end, the North Stars' offensive depth, highlighted by multi-point nights from Huntly, Ouellette, and Schwab, proved too much for the Riggers to handle.
