The O2 Grizzlies came out flying in the first period, dominating the shot clock 13-2 and building a two-goal lead. Turner Johnson opened the scoring for the Grizzlies, finishing a play from Henry Roth and Magnus Ferguson. Despite being shorthanded, the Grizzlies' Spencer McFadden doubled the lead with a key assist from Ellis May and Bennett Pfeiffer, putting the Rebels Hockey Academy on their heels. The Rebels' discipline was an early issue, taking three minor penalties in the opening frame, but their penalty kill managed to limit the damage to just the one short-handed goal against.
The second period saw a dramatic momentum shift as the Rebels roared back with a relentless offensive push, outshooting the Grizzlies 14-11. Capitalizing on a major penalty to the Grizzlies' Henry Roth, the Rebels struck twice on the power play in quick succession. First, Cache Kelly scored with helpers from Jack Clement and Parker Lofstrom. Just 24 seconds later, Barrett Nellis found the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2. The Grizzlies responded, however, as Ben Warren restored their lead with a short-handed marker, assisted by William Fiander, making it 3-2 heading into the final frame.
The third period was a wild, back-and-forth affair with both teams trading blows and the penalty box seeing plenty of action. The Rebels' Jack Clement tied the game on the power play early in the period, set up by Hendrix Beaupre and Luke Clark. Just 40 seconds later, Barrett Nellis struck again for his second of the night, giving the Rebels their first lead of the game at 4-3. The Grizzlies, showing resilience, answered back with another short-handed goal, this time from Bennett Pfeiffer, assisted by Spencer McFadden and Henry Roth, to knot the score at 4-4. Despite a combined 31 shots in the period and several more penalties, neither side could find a winner, leaving both goalies—Ryder Prior for the Grizzlies and Beau Shofner for the Rebels—credited with a hard-fought tie in a game defined by special teams and dramatic momentum swings.
