Corner Brook -
Brandon Hynes is responsible for a lot of cold heads so far this fall.
The 17-year-old native of Norris Point played in three games with his Victoriaville Tigres over the last seven days, the second of which saw him notch his third hat trick of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season.
In the first game of the seven-day span, on Nov. 20, the Tigres defeated the Gatineau Olympiques 3-2 in a shootout in Gatineau.
Hynes was held off the scoresheet during regulation time, save for two penalty minutes and three shots on net, but he scored the second goal in the 2-0 shootout triumph to help his team earn the victory.
He followed that up with three goals on five shots on Nov. 22 against the Halifax Mooseheads in Victoriaville.
The first goal came at 2:20 of the first period, followed by a power-play marker at 8:11 of the opening stanza that would stand as the game-winner.
He caused the hats to rain down on the rink at 17:20 of the second period.
After winning nine games in a row, the Tigres finally tasted defeat on Nov. 25 against the P.E.I. Rocket, a 4-1 loss in Victoriaville.
Like most of his teammates, Hynes was blanked on the scoreboard, but did manage six shots during the loss.
Through 28 games, Hynes has now compiled 19 goals and nine assists, with 35 penalty minutes. His goal total ranks him second overall in the league, tied with one other player. The leader has 20 goals. Meanwhile, his seven power-play goals leaves him in a six-way tie for third in that category and his four game-winners have him in a nine-way tie for first.
He continues to run away with the shots on goal statistic, firing 138 pucks on net so far, well ahead of the 127 taken by his closest competitor, St. John's native Luke Adam.
The recent winning streak has been kind to the Tigres point total, as they are now 19-8-0-1 with 39 points, good enough for third overall in the league and second in their division.
They see action again tonight against the Val-d'Or Foreurs.
