Taylor Motsinger lifted the Gillette Wild to a 7-5 victory with a hat trick against the Missoula Maulers.

Motsinger notched his first tally 5:08 into the first period. He then added goals at 15:27 into the second and at 3:07 into the third.

Gillette excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in five chances. The Wild's offense rang up 39 shots on Missoula's net. Gillette outdid its season average for goals scored. The Wild average 4.8 goals per game.

Gillette also got points from Matt Rose, who also finished with two goals and one assist and Tyler Cavan, who also grabbed one goal and four assists to lead the team in points. Darren Banks also scored for Gillette. In addition, Gillette received assists from Alex King, who had three and Tyson Loundagin, Brandon Miller, and Adam Pecht, who each chipped in one.

The Maulers kept Gillette's goalie busy throughout the game, and Nick Vittori made 38 saves on 43 shots. Penalties took their toll on Missoula, as its penalty kill unit let in three power play goals.

The Maulers were helped by Brock Brothers, who had two goals. Brothers scored the first of his two goals at 1:28 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Missoula. Cody Ogrin picked up the assist. Brothers' next tally made the score 4-4 with 12:55 left in the third period. Dustin Pierce assisted on the tally. Missoula also had goals scored by Michael Cummings, who had one and Brett Mathews, who had two. More assists for Missoula came via Anders Nord, Donovan Mattfeldt, and Matt Chamberlain, who contributed one a piece and Zach Paisley and Jordan Wheatley, who each chipped in two.

The Wild ended with 15 minutes in penalty time with five minors and one major. Mckinlee Baum recorded 32 saves for Missoula. The Maulers ended with 26 minutes in penalty time with three minors and two majors. For Missoula, Viktor Steenson was ejected from the game.