AllTro Thunder sniper Bryce Hillock scored a natural hattrick to help eliminate rival Brampton, and advance Halton Hills to the TriCounty Championship.
After great goaltending on both sides kept the game scoreless in the first The 45's broke the deadlock with six minutes to play in the second just after a powerplay ended on a cross ice one timer that goalie Cody Hunter had no chance on.
With less than a minute to play in the second it was Hillocks line, with Ben Mondou and Ethan Valade controlled the puck down low before finding Bryce open in the slot, and he made no mistake, tying the game 1-1 heading to the third. Shots on goal after 2 periods were 18\17 Halton Hills, as the two teams prepared for the final frame.
The third period was a different story as Halton Hills controlled the play and the pressure of the game seemed to take effect on Brampton. With four minutes to play Hillock broke the tie from Brady Worthman and Valade. Then sixteen seconds later Hillock completed the hattrick stepping in off the hashmarks on an offensive zone draw to give the Thunder a two goal lead with 2:51 left to play.
Brampton, to their credit were not going to go down easy. With the goalie out they caught a break when a fanned shot by their defenceman ended up in front of Halton Hills net, and they scored on the issuing scramble to make it 3-2, with :50 sec. remaining. Brampton had some late pressure, when a nicely executed neutral zone faceoff play gave them a scoring chance but Mondou jumped on a loose puck in the slot and went the length of the ice, to score in the empty net, and put the game away! Final Score 4-2. Cody Hunter came up big under pressure stopping 19 of 21 shots to earn the Win.
Halton Hills now awaits the Tri-County Final schedule against Oakville Red!
Game Stats:
Shots - HH 36, Bram 21
PP - 0/1, PK 3/3