Following a two-week holiday break, the Wellington Dukes returned to game action on the road and fell in a hard-fought battle against the Haliburton County Huskies 4-2 on Sunday.
Wellington got on the board first on Dimitri Tzaferis’ 10th of the year, when the Montreal-born defenceman buried a cross-ice pass from Nick DiPaolo just a few seconds after a powerplay expired.
Ryan Schaap added the second assist.
Haliburton wrestled momentum back quickly on three straight goals, including a persistent effort by Patrick Saini to tie the game and a sharp shot by Alex Bradshaw in the first frame.
Bradshaw potted the game-winner 6:43 into the second past Shane Shelest to lift the Huskies into a two-goal lead.
Cory Jewitt did get Wellington back to within a goal late in the third, banging in a centering pass from Will Mitchell for his 17th of the season. Colin Smith also helped out with the second assist.
In the end, the Huskies were able to lock down the win with solid defence and an empty-net tally from Ty Petrou in the final minute to put a lid on things.
The Huskies outshot Wellington 30-25, with Shelest making 26 stops in the defeat.
The Dukes fall to 23-15-0-2 with another week break ahead of them prior to a game on Sunday, Jan. 7 versus the North York Rangers at 2:30 p.m.
