Story by Brock Ormond
Photo: Wellington Dukes/OJHL Images
The Wellington Dukes rounded out the 2022-23 regular season in style Saturday night on the road.
Captain Jacob Vreugdenhil hit the 30-goal plateau and Ed Moskowitz finished strong with three points in a 5-2 victory over the Oakville Blades.
The Dukes got off to a bit of a sluggish start, getting burned for a Jack Churchill goal just 1:04 into the first period, but answered back more than three minutes later on Ryan Smith’s 14th of the year.
The two teams traded powerplay markers, with Jacob Dietz countering a Lachlan Wells tally with his sixth of the season at 11:28 of the first.
A busy period of scoring was closed by Moskowitz in the final minute, potting a Nolan Mozer pass to put Wellington in the lead to stay.
Vreugdenhil, playing in his record 232nd regular season game as a Duke, pocketed his 30th marker of the season at 4:10 of the second from Barret Joynt and Dietz.
That made him and Moskowitz the first set of Dukes teammates to both hit that total in one season since Jake Gagnon and Frank Vitucci in 2019-20.
Moskowitz wrapped the season scoring with his second of the night on another man advantage at 7:48.
Ryan Cutler contributed two assists, with David Campbell, JH Lages, Connor Hunt, and Moskowitz adding the other single helpers.
The Dukes kept Oakville goalie Gavin McCarthy busy with a season-high 73 shots. Ethan Morrow won his second game in as many nights with 24 saves on 26 Blades chances.
Wellington ends the regular season with points in eight of its last nine games and a 37-12-3-2 record with 79 points.
The team will play the 7th place St. Michael’s Buzzers in round one of the Buckland Cup playoffs, with a schedule to be released in the coming days.
