Connor Cole lifted the Kitchener Dutchmen to a 7-5 victory with a hat trick against the Stratford Cullitons.

Cole's first goal came 12:54 into the first period. He then added goals at 7:40 into the second and at 17:28 into the second.

The win moved Kitchener to down 2-1 in the best of seven series.

The Dutchmen forced Stratford goalie Nicholas Caldwell to work between the pipes, taking 32 shots. Kitchener's defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in two goals.

Kitchener additionally got points from Kyle Ellis, who also had one goal and two assists, Austin Gaboury, who also finished with one goal and one assist, and Adam Kawalec, who also grabbed one goal and two assists. Nic Hague also scored for Kitchener. In addition, Kitchener received assists from Alex Demrovsky, who had one and Keegan Calder, who had three.

The Cullitons' offense rang up 40 shots on the Dutchmen's net. Team could not crack Kitchener's penalty kill and was held to two power play goals while having 13 opportunities to play with the man advantage.

Stratford was helped by Evan Metelski (APM), who registered one goal. Metelski (APM) scored 3:23 into the third period to make the score 5-5. Matthieu Bourbeau picked up the assist. Stratford also got points from Jared Nash, who also had one goal and one assist, Shane O Brien, who also finished with one goal and one assist, Jake Pleon, who also racked up one goal and one assist, and Trevor Sauder, who also tallied one goal and one assist. More assists for Stratford came via Patrick McKelvie, who had one and Deven Kropf and Mitch Brooks, who contributed two each.

Jackson McIntosh made 35 saves for the Dutchmen on 40 shots. Kitchener totaled 47 minutes in penalty time with 11 minors and one major and went 2-for-4 on the power play. For the Dutchmen, Ben St Marseille was ejected from the game. The Cullitons' Caldwell stopped 25 shots out of the 32 that he faced. Stratford ended with 21 minutes in penalty time with eight minors and one major. The Cullitons ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Austin Huizenga was ejected from the game.