Cody Hodgson is hoping for a hometown advantage in 'Hockeytown.'

The Brampton Battalion star forward paced his team to a thrilling 5-4 overtime win Sunday with three goals and an assist in the second game of their best-of-seven series with Peterborough. With his team holding a commanding two-game series lead, Hodgson's Battalion will be looking to take a stranglehold on the series Tuesday with family and friends in attendance at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

"I always love playing there," Hodgson said following practice Monday, affectionately referring to Peterborough as 'Hockeytown.'

It comes as no surprise, given that Hodgson spent part of his youth growing up in Haliburton, a town approximately two hours north of Peterborough. There was a local flavour in a game earlier this season when a couple hundred aspiring young hockey players from the Haliburton Minor Hockey Association made the trip for a Battalion-Petes contest.

"It seemed like the whole town was there," said Hodgson, whose teammate Matt Duchene is also from Haliburton. "A lot of people from that town come out and support us.

"Hopefully it'll be the same in the playoffs."

Don't expect the Petes to be giving the Battalion any advantages for Tuesday and Thursday's games. The seventh-placed Petes finished 37 points back of Brampton in the regular season and are heavy underdogs in this series.

As is always the case in the playoffs, regular-season totals mean nothing when a team is fighting for their collective lives. Despite being outshot 64-13 in Game 2 on Sunday, the Petes managed to force overtime after a strange play where a bouncing puck found the back of the net with less than five minutes remaining in the third period.

"It really only takes one bounce to either give one team a lot of confidence like that did for Peterborough or in a tight game, a bad break can really kill a team's confidence," Battalion goaltender Thomas McCollum said. "Fortunately, we have a really resilient team and the boys came back and scored the winner."

Already finding his shots few and far between, McCollum wasn't tested in the extra frame. After having already scored three of Brampton's four goals in regulation, Hodgson did all but score to seal Peterborough's fate. The Vancouver Canucks prospect pick-pocketed Adam Sedlak on a breakout then fed Anthony Peluso for the game-winner less than a minute into overtime.

The play was vintage Hodgson. Always able to find ways to rise to the occasion in a big game, Hodgson lifted his team once more when they needed him most, a trend that doesn't surprise his new teammate McCollum.

"There's not much you can say about Cody that hasn't been said before," McCollum said. "He's just an unbelievable player and it always seems like when it's a crucial point in time in a game the puck always seems to find his stick and he does something unbelievable with it."

The win on Sunday must have come with added relief for Battalion fans. In their history, the Battalion have played in 11 previous playoff series, winning the second game just twice. The last time Brampton won the second game of a playoff series was in 2004 against the Ottawa 67's, which was also the last time Brampton won a playoff round.

The expectations, however, are for the Battalion and defending Eastern Conference champion Belleville Bulls to meet in the third round. The potential series between Belleville and Brampton has been hyped almost as much as the potential final in the Western Conference of Windsor and London.

If the expectations bring any added pressure, Hodgson isn't feeling it.

"The only thing we're worrying about right now is Peterborough and trying to beat them," Hodgson said. "We're not going to worry about Belleville or any other team in the future right now."

Hodgson felt his team needs to shore up their defensive play, particularly on the penalty kill. Peterborough scored twice on 11 chances through two games while allowing six goals overall.

The homecoming of sorts will also be special for Hodgson from another standpoint. Two years ago, he was playing his first Ontario Hockey League game in Peterborough, the same game he scored his first goal and assist in the league.

"You always try a little bit harder to put on a good show for one of your teammates when they have a lot of family and friends (in attendance)," McCollum said.

"It's a cliché but in the playoffs, anything can happen," Hodgson said. "Every series everyone's fighting for their lives. It's all on the line - anything happens. That's the fun time, that's when you want to be a hockey player."

Hodgson won't need much more motivation. With this likely being his final season in junior before turning pro, Hodgson looks to start what could be a long playoff run in a town he has fond memories, a town he calls 'Hockeytown.'