A hat trick by Devon Paliani was the highlight in Vipers' 7-1 win against the Strathroy Rockets.

Paliani got on the scoresheet 12:35 into the second period. He then added goals at 18:55 into the second and at 9:25 into the third.

The game was close after the first frame, but the LaSalle Vipers banged in four goals during the second period to put the victory out of reach for Strathroy.

LaSalle was led by goalie Cameron Zanussi, who finished with 33 saves while allowing one goal. The solid play of Zanussi will be reflected in his goals against average, which pre-game was 2.45.

The Vipers made the Rockets' goalies to work in net, totaling 33 shots and forcing 26 saves. PJ Bridges made 14 stops and Tynan Lauziere made 12. LaSalle struggled to stay out of the sin bin throughout the game as it finished the game with 41 penalty minutes for nine opposing power plays.

LaSalle also got points from Daniel Beaudoin, who also tallied one goal and one assist. LaSalle also had goals scored by Billy Eansor, who had one and Mark Manchurek, who had two. More assists for LaSalle came via Brett Langlois, Nathan Savage, Zack Percy, Nathan Veres, Blake Jones, and Ben Hanus, who each chipped in one and Brad Carroll, Aaron Luchuk, and Andrew Burns, who contributed two a piece.

Strathroy did not reach the goal total it has come to expect this season. The Rockets average 3.6 goals per game. Strathroy's offense rang up 34 shots on the Vipers' net. The Rockets could not stay out of the penalty box, as the team accrued 66 minutes in penalties during the game.

Strathroy also got a goal from Dan Chapman as well. In addition, Strathroy received assists from Ryan Field and Andrew Martin, who each chipped in one.

LaSalle registered three goals on 14 power play opportunities. For Strathroy, Max Naus was ejected from the game.