Sean Ross scored a natural hat trick in the Warriors four-goal third period as Stratford rallied to beat Kitchener 7-3.
The Warriors were down 2-1 after the first. Evan Dowd scored for Stratford at 7:19 of the opening frame. David Kiss and Austin Gaboury answered for the Dutchmen.
Dylan Lebold tied the game with a power play goal at 4:08 of the second. Blair Derynck gave the Dutchmen the lead again at 14:49. Ryan Nicholson answered for the Warriors 40 seconds later tying the game at three heading into the third.
Ross' first goal stood as the game winner and came at 8:28 of the final frame. He scored again at 14:15 to give the Warriors some insurance. He completed the hat trick at 17:22 with a goal on an empty Dutchmen net. Sean Chisholm netted a power play goal with 36 seconds left in regulation. Chisholm also had two assists in the game to earn three points.
Ruan Badenhorst made 31 saves for the Warriors. Lucas Pfeil stopped 24 of the 30 shots he faced.
With the win the Warriors inch closer to the Midwestern Conference leading Listowel Cyclones. Stratford has 36 points and an 18-5-0-0 record. The Cyclones are two up on the Warriors with a 19-4-0-0 record.
