Story by Brock Ormond
Photo: Ed McPherson/OJHL Images
The Wellington Dukes were on their last legs at the end of a three-in-three weekend, falling 4-2 to the Niagara Falls Canucks on Sunday at Lehigh Arena.
Despite a spirited effort at the end of another busy stretch of hockey, the Dukes couldn’t overcome a three-goal third period from the Canucks, who won their first-ever game against Wellington since making the move from the GOJHL.
The Dukes managed to secure a tie through the first 40 minutes, as Braeden O’Keefe buried a rocket from the left faceoff circle on a powerplay in the first and Sacha Trudel provided a response at 13:45 of the second by sticking with a loose puck on the rush and beat Niagara Falls goalie Mikael Kingo past his glove hand for his ninth of the year.
The tying marker was assisted by Alex Hendry and goaltender Jacob Brown.
An early goal from Wolf Giles just 15 seconds into the third frame put Niagara Falls ahead and they would add to it on a Ryan Cooper goal off a rebound.
A mix of grunt and finesse work led to a Dukes marker from Quinn McNamara, assisted by Zach Mascard and Zack Carrier at the 11:51 mark.
That was as close as the Dukes would get, as a set up from twin brothers Brandon and Jesse Gauthier led to another goal from Cooper in the final four minutes to lock down the Canucks victory.
Along with his assist, Brown made 18 saves in his second start in three games on the weekend as Wellington outshot Niagara Falls 26-22.
The Dukes drop to 17-10 with their first home loss in almost a month. They will next prepare for a mid-week afternoon road tilt with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
