The Seals came roaring out of the locker room, scoring the game’s first five goals on their way to jumping out to a 6-1 lead after one quarter. Dylan Watson scored 1:32 in for the visitors and it was all Seals early on. Connor Robinson scored twice, while Tre Leclaire, Wes Berg and Ben McIntosh each scored once. Berg and McIntosh both scored their goals while diving through the air. McIntosh’s in particular was a thing of beauty as he came flying around from behind the Colorado net during a power play and with just one second left in the quarter, he beat Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward to the stick side. Berg, the team’s season assists leader, assisted on three of the Seals’ early goals, while Robinson and Zach Currier both recorded a pair of assists. Trevor Baptiste continued his dominance early on, winning five of six first-quarter faceoffs, while Chris Origlieri stopped 11 of the 12 first-quarter shots that he faced.
Colorado’s offense came to life during a second quarter that featured runs by both teams, with the Mammoth outscoring the Seals 5-3 to get back into the contest. The Mammoth scored the quarter’s first three goals over the opening 7:04, but the Seals took just 41 seconds to erase all the work put in by the home team. Berg scored his second of the night on a power play with 6:08 left in the quarter, and just 28 seconds later, Currier scored his first of the night. Having seen enough, Mammoth head coach Pat Coyle pulled Ward and replaced him with Nathan Whittom, but it didn’t make much difference as just 13 seconds later after Baptiste won the ensuing faceoff, Watson scored his second of the night while diving through the crease and his goal put the Seals back on top, 9-4. Colorado would score twice over the final 4:11, including a power play goal, and the teams went to the locker room at the half with the Seals leading, 9-6.
Tre Leclaire opened the second half with his second goal of the night to give the Seals a 10–7 lead, but the Mammoth responded with three straight to make it 10–9 heading into the fourth. Colorado tied it early in the final frame before Zach Currier answered to put San Diego back on top. The teams traded blows, and Dylan Watson fired home a go-ahead goal to make it 12–11 with just over eight minutes left.
Late penalties shifted the momentum, as the Mammoth capitalized, taking the lead and adding one more in the final seconds to secure a 14–12 win.
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