Joshua Pace lifted the Ancaster Avalanche to a 7-5 victory with a hat trick against the Thorold Blackhawks.

Pace's first goal came 19:11 into the first period. He then added goals at 9:00 into the second and at 16:26 into the second.

The win gave Ancaster a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series.

The Avalanche's offense rang up 36 shots on Thorold's net. Ancaster struggled on the penalty kill, allowing the Blackhawks to score five power play goals on seven chances. The Avalanche's defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in three goals.

Ancaster also got points from Ben Hughes, who also registered one goal and three assists to lead the team in points, Jesse Hilton, who also racked up one goal and one assist, and Owen Burnell, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. Ancaster also got a goal from Matt Mannella as well. In addition, Ancaster received assists from Lucas Pozzobon, who had three and Michael Pollice, Cole Nagy, Fedor Gordeev, Ryan Knill, Cole Ceci, and Reilly Webb, who each chipped in one.

Thorold's penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on four Ancaster power plays. Team's forwards weren't the only contributers offensively, and the team's defensemen showcased their scoring touch with two goals.

The Blackhawks were led by Brendan D`Agostino, who tallied two goals and one assist. D`Agostino scored the first of his two goals on the power play at 4:38 into the second period to make the score 4-3 Ancaster. Thorold had gotten the advantage when Ancaster's Nick Gauvin was sent off for boarding. Griffin Roubos picked up the assist. D`Agostino's next tally on the power play made the score 5-4 Ancaster with 4:19 left in the second period. The Blackhawks had taken the advantage when the Avalanche's Tyler Bell got sent off for slashing. Jake Lloyd provided the assist. Thorold additionally got points from Anton Trublin, who also had one goal and one assist. Thorold also had goals scored by David D`Agostino and Cal Davis, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for Thorold were Aaron Nunes, who had one and Francois Plamondon, who had two.

Ceci recorded 20 saves for Ancaster. The Avalanche incurred 48 minutes in penalty time with nine minors. Josh Astorino made 29 saves for Thorold on 35 shots. The Blackhawks incurred 30 minutes in penalty time with five minors.