HUDSON SCORES THREE, JR. 67’S HAND NORTH STARS FIRST LOSS

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Matthew Hudson had a hat trick to lead the way as the Ottawa Jr. 67’s beat the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars 6-1 on Wednesday night, handing the host team its first loss of the 2013 TELUS Cup.

The win leaves Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie and the Rousseau Royal de Laval-Montreal tied atop the standings after three days with identical 2-1 records.

Medric Mercier scored twice on the power play for the second day in a row for Ottawa, and Ryan Kuffner scored the other Jr. 67’s goal. Hudson finished with four points, while Kuffner chipped in with three.

Matt Pinder, with his tournament-leading fifth goal, had the lone tally for Sault Ste. Marie, which suffered its worst loss of the season. A win by the North Stars would have assured them of a spot in Saturday’s semifinals.

Mercier opened the scoring six-and-a-half minutes after the puck dropped, beating Sault Ste. Marie goaltender Jacob Kment with a shot from the point on an Ottawa power play, and Hudson doubled the lead eight minutes later when his shot bounced off the crossbar, off the back of Kment and in.

Hudson’s second of the game came 5:25 into the second period when he buried the rebound of a Justin St. Germain shot, but Pinder got one back for the North Stars 76 seconds later, wiring a shot over the glove of Jr. 67’s netminder Simon Hofley.

Kuffner restored Ottawa’s three-goal lead six minutes into the third, and Mercier and Hudson added power play goals less than four minutes apart as the Jr. 67’s outshot Sault Ste. Marie 11-4 in the third period, and 31-23 overall.

Hudson’s hat trick goal spelled the end of the net for Kment, who was replaced by his brother Brian. Hofley went the distance for Ottawa, picking up the win after a 22-save performance.

Sault Ste. Marie will take another crack at locking up a semifinal spot when it faces the Saskatoon Contacts on Thursday night (7:30 p.m. ET), while the Jr. 67’s will do the same against Laval-Montréal (4 p.m. ET).