The Nippon Paper Cranes scored four third-period goals en route to a 7-2 victory over the Seibu Prince Rabbits in Game 3 of the Asia League Ice Hockey finals on Tuesday night at Kushiro Ice Arena in Hokkaido before 2,503 fans.
Ex-NHL player Derek Plante, Masatoshi Takeuchi, Hiroo Izuku and Masatoshi Ito scored third-period goals for the hosts. Izuku finished with two tallies.
Chris Yule and Ryuichi Kawai scored Seibu's goals. The series shifts back to Tokyo for Game 4 on Saturday at DyDo Drinco Arena in Higashi-Fushimi.
The puck is set to drop at 5 p.m. If necessary, Game 5 will be played on Sunday in Tokyo at the same time.