Matt Clarke lifted the Exeter Hawks to an 8-1 victory with a hat trick against the Mt.Brydges Bulldogs.

Clarke's first goal came 10:39 into the first period. He then added goals at 16:32 into the first and at 4:13 into the second.

The win gave Exeter a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.

The Hawks led 4-0 after the opening frame the first period and maintained a healthy margin after.

Exeter's James Morreau was a brick wall in net, as he came up with 27 saves and let only one puck past him. Morreau certainly lowered his goals against average, which was 3.34 entering the contest.

The Hawks forced Mt.Brydges' goaltenders to work hard to keep the puck out of the net, racking up 36 shots and forcing 28 saves. Paul Town made 11 stops and Aidan Brown made 17. Exeter cashed in on power play opportunities, scoring five goals on eight chances.

Exeter additionally got points from Tyler Kettler, who also tallied one goal and three assists and Chase Thornton, who also registered three goals and two assists. Exeter also got a goal from Brett Dyck as well. More assists for Exeter came via Max Naus, who had four and Austin Elkin, Jon Baker, Trevor Thornton, Austin Carter, Tyler Coleman, and Liam Melady, who contributed one each.

Austin Blais also scored for Mt.Brydges. In addition, Mt.Brydges received assists from Carson Kennes and Aaron Ross, who each chipped in one.

The Hawks ended with 27 minutes in penalty time with 11 minors and one major. Exeter ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Coleman was ejected from the game. The Bulldogs totaled 28 minutes in penalty time with nine minors and two majors and went 1-for-9 on the power play. For Mt.Brydges, Billy Morris, Trevor Smith, and Lucas Wilson were ejected from the contest.