Story by Brock Ormond
Photo: Amy Deroche/OJHL Images
A thriller in Trenton ended with an overtime winner by the visiting Wellington Dukes.
Ryan Smith beat Ben Bonisteel 1:28 into the extra session to give Wellington a 2-1 victory over the Trenton Golden Hawks on Sunday night.
The ‘Hangar’ was filled with fans of both teams eager to see another fierce battle in the Hasty Ps Cup Series and it didn’t disappoint, with several chances, hard hits and great saves by both Bonisteel and Jacob Osborne.
Late in the first period, Ethan Sullivan scored on a long point shot for his first goal as a Duke, with Smith and Corbin Roach drawing the assists.
Trenton came out of the intermission break with renewed confidence after controlling much of the first frame, notching a counter a little more than two minutes into the second period.
That came courtesy of Adam O’Marra, who converted while parked at the side of the Wellington net and buried a sneaky Zev Podolski feed for his eighth of the season and fourth as a Golden Hawk.
Jordan Fuller, who was a thorn in Wellington’s side all night, added the second helper.
Thanks to tight defence and strong netminding, that ended up being the final tally in regulation, setting the stage for extra time.
Prior to the winning goal, Nathan Oickle ran a shot off the goalpost that would have given Trenton the victory, and moments later, Smith made the home side pay for it.
After Connor Hunt had the puck knocked off his stick inside Trenton territory, Smith took advantage of a G-Hawks defensive breakdown and ripped a high shot top corner over Bonisteel’s left shoulder to send Wellington fans home happy.
JH Lages picked up an assist on the winner as well.
Osborne was well-earned for the first star, stopping 35 of 36 shots for his 10th win of the season.
Bonisteel also was given a star for his 23 stops in the loss.
The Dukes take the 2-1 lead in the Hasty Ps Cup series, and improve to 23-8-2-1 on the season, while Trenton falls to 23-12-0-3 on the year, both teams now sit with 49 points.
Wellington’s last contest before the break is Tuesday at Lehigh Arena versus the Markham Royals at 7:30 p.m.
