The Windsor Spitfires shutout the Sarnia Sting 3-0 in game one of their playoff series Thursday night.
The top seeded Spitfires held the Sting to just 11 shots on net in the loss.
Sarnia's leading goal scorer Nolan Burke missed his fourth game due to an injury.
Alex Christopoulos, James Jodoin and Andrew Perrott all scored for Windsor in the win.
Sting Goalie Ben Gaudreau made 25 saves in his playoff debut.
Sting Head Coach Alan Letang said going into the series, it was going to be challenging.
"They finished first in our conference for a reason," said Letang. "They've got lots of depth, they're an older team, their top lines are arguably the best in the league. It'll be a good challenge for our D (defence) to keep them in check, it'll be a good challenge for our team."
The Sting will try to even the Western Conference quarter-final Saturday night in Windsor, on CHOK (103.9FM/1070AM) at 6:30 p.m.