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And it could've been even better for The Lions' hitman as he missed the chance to score his hattrick after blasting a 55-minute penalty over the bar.
The Gills had raced into an early two-goal lead thanks to strikes by Darius Henderson and Darren Byfield and at one stage looked to be running away with the game.
But Steve Claridge's men - playing an unfamiliar 5-3-2 formation after injuries to Dave Livermore, Marvin Elliott, Tony Craig and Sammy Igoe - clawed their way back into the game after thirty minutes when Josh Simpson broke through the opposition defence and set up Hayles to score his first.
Claridge and Mark Phillips then went close to equalising before the pressure paid off and Hayles notched up his second of the evening.
The second half saw the game lose it's rhythm after a string of substitutions but the game did mark trialist John Oster's debut in a Lions' shirt before a spat between Alan Dunne and Byfield saw both players substituted.
Millwall: Marshall, Dunne (Hendry, 85mins), Simpson (Cogan, 79mins), Lawrence (Weston, 56mins), Phillips, P. Robinson, Morris, Hutchison (Oster, 63mins), Claridge (Braniff, 79mins), Hayles (Peeters, 79mins), Serioux. Subs not used: Crowther, Sutton.