DUKES ELIMINATE BUZZERS WITH GAME 5 WIN

The Dukes are moving to round 2 following a sound effort in Game 5 of the Southeast Conference Quarterfinals.

Wellington took a 4-0 lead halfway through the game and warded off a Buzzers attack to take the series four games to one with a 6-3 victory on Friday night at Lehigh Arena, helping them rebound from a rough loss on Tuesday.

Jacob Vreugdenhil got the game’s opening goal with six minutes left in the first period to break the ice on a powerplay from Edward Moskowitz and Ryan Cutler.

The Dukes quickly spread the lead on Nolan Mozer’s low shot through traffic, Barret Joynt’s snap shot over Buzzers goalie Jacob Gorinsky’s glove on a give-and-go with Luke Strickland and Cutler’s hard shot through the short-side on another powerplay.

St. Mike’s cut the deficit in half thanks to tallies from Jonathan Morello and Giacomo Martino before the second frame finished, but they wouldn’t come closer the rest of the night.

David Campbell sniped home his second of the playoffs and Moskowitz angled in his fourth to put the Buzzers away for good.

A late Ryan O’Toole tally didn’t move the needle and the Dukes came away with the series-clinching victory.

The Dukes outshot St. Mike’s 38-16, with Jacob Osborne stopping 13 for his third personal win of the series.

Wellington won its first playoff round since 2020 and will take on the rival Haliburton County Huskies in Round 2, the Southeast Conference Semifinals.

A full schedule will be released in the coming days.