Jake Matlock netted his first three goals of the season over the first and second period while defenseman Zach Fichtner added a pair of late insurance tallies as Hilton defeated Greece 7-3 in boys hockey.
Seconds after Nate Higgins and Jake Lantz were stopped on a give-and-go, Lantz found the net at 13:52 of the first period with assists from Higgins and Brenna Callen.
Matlock then began his assault on the Storm net as he one-timed a pass from Higgins off the post and in at 16:09 to stake the Cadets to a 2-0 advantage. Rylan Searley was also credited with an assist.
On the same shift, Matlock put his wrist shot under the crossbar 38 seconds later to make it 3-0 after the first period. Higgins and Lantz assisted on the scoring play.
He then took a pass from Higgins and backhanded a shot over the goaltender’s glove just 33 seconds into the second period to complete his natural hat trick.
“I had my head down by the time I got to the net, so I just shot and hoped for the best,” Matlock said about his final goal.
Greece gained momentum with a power play goal and an even strength tally 11 seconds apart to close the Hilton lead to 4-2, but the Cadets rallied around their penalty killing unit.
They killed off a five-on-three Storm power play for 1:43 and another 88 second five-on-four man advantage late in the second period to maintain their lead.
Hilton’s Sam DiPasquale opened the third period by one-timing a shot from the high slot into the net for a power play goal after passes from Matlock and Dom Dentino 1:10 into the stanza to make it 5-2 Cadets.
Greece again closed to within two goals at 5:29 of the third, but Fichtner scored a shorthanded goal moments after a four-on-four expired and added his second when he banged in the rebound from Sam and Christopher DiPasquale after extended offensive zone pressure for a 7-3 lead.
Hilton goaltender Mason Burdick, who made 24 saves, thwarted a Greece scoring opportunity with fewer than two minutes remaining with a sparkling glove save.
With their first win of the season, the Cadets have already matched their division win total from last season.
“The seniors are more prepared and ready to go and this year we’re getting things under control,” Matlock said.
“We want to put pressure on teams,” Hilton head coach Chris Monfiletto said. “We talked in our exit interviews last season that we wanted to play more as a team. We have a lot of talent, but we need to get production from the whole team and I think you saw that today.”
