48:38 had passed before the ice-breaker was recorded. For much of the evening, it appeared as though the Barons and Bulldogs would play through the night. Near the midway mark of the third period, the line of Brad Moran, Alex Giroux and Colin McDonald emerged. The trio was challenged by Head Coach Todd Nelson following a disappointing performance by all three Saturday night in Hamilton. In response, they stepped up. At the 8:38 mark of the third, Moran's snapshot from the slot created a loose puck near the goal line. McDonald pounced on the rebound, registering the go-ahead goal.

Once Oklahoma City had established a 1-0 lead, the top line continued to showcase their elite-level talent. Alex Giroux in particular was able to notch the Barons' second goal of the evening on the back of hard work. After breaking in on the Bulldogs defence, he fell to his knees with the puck quickly escaping his reach. The veteran forward powered through the check, sprung to his feet and broke in on goal against Hamilton netminder Drew MacIntyre. Giroux wasted no time, releasing a quick wrister under the bar to put the Barons up 2-0 late in the third period; all the Barons would need to win.

While Alex Giroux had an excellent outing for the Barons, this series has been shaped by goaltending. The Bulldogs were able to muster 26 shots on Martin Gerber this evening; all of which were turned aside by the veteran netminder. Until this point in the series, Oklahoma City's goaltenders had been heavily outplayed by Drew MacIntyre at the other end. MacIntyre played well, stopping 44 of the 46 Barons attempts, but Gerber's shutout performance vaulted his club to a well-earned 2-0 victory.

"They can give more. We need them to give more. They'll be there for us in Game 3." - Coach Todd Nelson on the performances of Brad Moran, Alex Giroux and Colin McDonald Saturday night in Hamilton. The top line accepted the challenge and had an excellent collective evening for the Barons. Giroux notched two points, while McDonald and Moran each collected one in the victory. Overall, the response was exactly what was needed as the Barons' top guns propelled their squad to victory.

The quickest way to get involved in a game early is to engage in the physical play. Tough-as-nails rearguard Colten Teubert did that and more in the opening period with a pair of crunches on separate, unsuspecting Bulldogs skaters. Late in the opening period, Teubert met Aaron Palushaj near the penalty boxes, where he dumped the talented forward with a thundering shoulder-to-shoulder blow. The impact sent the Hamilton skater heavily to the ice where he would require attention from the training staff.

Coming out with a quick start has been the Barons' goal since a disappointing Game 1 saw them fall behind 3-0 in the opening period. Tonight, Oklahoma City produced 11 scoring chances on 15 first period shots. Hamilton could only respond with three scoring chances on six shots. While no goals were scored, it was an excellent start to set the tone early on.

"I'm playing with two good players as well. They know what I'm going to do every night. I try and get to the net as quick as I can and try to create as much garbage and commotion as possible."

-  Colin McDonald following the 2-0 victory over Hamilton.

Hamilton and Oklahoma City will reconvene tomorrow evening at Cox Convention Center for Game 4 of the North Division Semi-Final series.