Sault Ste Marie edged North Bay 5-4 in regulation, and the middle period was the whole story. The Greyhounds flipped a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead and never gave it back.
North Bay took the first period 2-1 and carried a 2-1 edge to the first intermission. The Greyhounds answered with a three-goal second to lead 4-3 after 40, then traded singles in the third to close it at 5-4.
The decisive number is the second period: 3-1 for Sault Ste Marie, a two-goal swing that accounted for the final margin. North Bay matched them 1-1 the rest of the way and still came up a goal short.