The O2 Grizzlies delivered a dominant performance from the opening faceoff, cruising to an emphatic 8-2 victory over the Queen City Young Guns. The tone was set early by the dynamic duo of Cruz Todd and Ellis May, who combined to put the game out of reach in the first period. Todd, wearing number 15, struck twice in quick succession, first from an assist by May just over seven minutes in, and again less than a minute later from Bennett Pfeiffer. The Young Guns' struggles were compounded by a penalty, and May capitalized with a shorthanded goal to make it 3-0. He wasn't finished, adding his second of the period in the final ten seconds, assisted by Blake Grudeski and Todd, to send the Grizzlies into the intermission with a commanding 4-0 lead.
The second period saw the Grizzlies' attack continue unabated. Nathaniel Noble, number 3, found the net early, with Grudeski picking up another helper. Ryan Farrell then made it 6-0, finishing a play set up by Noble and Hunter McCain. The period ended with a flurry of penalties, including matching minors for Grudeski and the Young Guns' Ben Doran, but the home team could not solve the Grizzlies' defensive structure or their goaltender, who was a fortress despite the lack of tracked stats, facing down every Queen City opportunity to that point.
The Young Guns finally broke through in the third period on the power play, as Ledger Kachur, number 62, scored to avoid the shutout. He added a second goal shortly after to make it 6-2, providing a brief spark for the home side. Any thought of a miraculous comeback was swiftly extinguished, however, as the Grizzlies' top line reasserted its dominance. Cruz Todd completed his hat trick with assists from Ellis May and Bennett Pfeiffer, and Ben Warren rounded out the scoring to seal the 8-2 final. The Grizzlies' offensive chemistry, particularly from Todd, May, and their playmaking teammates, was simply too much for the Young Guns to handle on this night.
