Stories by Brock Ormond
Photo: OJHL Images/Wellington Dukes
The Wellington Dukes put up a good fight this weekend, earning a point out of a tie on Sunday after a competitive effort against a surging Newmarket Hurricanes team in their first visit in six seasons.
HURRICANES 4 DUKES 1
A stronger effort on both sides of the puck from the Wellington Dukes still didn’t translate to a win on Friday night.
Nathan Phillips’ hat trick lifted the Newmarket Hurricanes to a 4-1 win at Lehigh Arena, with his empty-net marker to complete the trio coming right under the buzzer.
The veteran forward opened the scoring by tapping in a backdoor pass from Sam Pye in the first, then struck quick just 12 seconds into the second on a spinaround shot from the top of the Wellington zone.
The outstanding play of rookie goalie Royden Smith kept the game close and allowed Liam Campbell to shave into the deficit at 12:12 of the middle frame.
The son of former Duke David Campbell roofed a centering pass from Sacha Trudel over Hurricanes goalie Hayden Duncan to get the Dukes what would end up being their only marker on the night.
Cole Ellis added the secondary assist on Campbell’s fourth as a Duke.
A powerplay opportunity gave the Dukes a chance in the third, but Chase Yanni beat Smith by throwing a shot on net from a bad angle on a shorthanded tally to add some huge insurance.
Smith finished with 37 saves as the Dukes mustered just 17 on Duncan in their seventh consecutive loss.
DUKES 3 COUGARS 3
The Dukes made steps toward getting back to their winning ways on Sunday afternoon, deadlocking with the Burlington Cougars at three goals apiece.
Following a goalless first period, the Western Conference Cougars got on the board first on Sean-Matthew Goyette’s goal at 4:51 of the second period.
Wellington responded through Ethan Murray’s seventh of the year, converting on a rebound at 9:42 from Sacha Trudel and Justin Doak to tie the game.
The Dukes grabbed the lead later in the frame when Christian Armstrong completed a coast-to-coast rush on a powerplay for his third of the season, assisted by Landon Marleau (first point as a Duke) and Evan Erwin.
Burlington knotted the score to start a bit of a back-and-forth in the third period, with Reid Forster finding the net behind Dukes AP goalie Nolan Hardy.
The Dukes retook the lead on Zach Mascard’s ninth of the season, assisted by Blake Berthiaume and Cole Ellis, but the Cougars weren’t about to slink away.
Ethan Brassard beat Hardy with 3:23 remaining in regulation to force bonus hockey.
A competitive pair of overtime periods went by without a goal, even as the Dukes outshot Burlington 6-1 in the second OT and the game ended in a stalemate.
The 15-year-old Hardy had 35 saves in an outstanding junior hockey debut as the Cougars outshot Wellington 38-34.
The Dukes are now 7-6-1-2 with 17 points on the campaign and will aim for a win on the road Thursday, when they cross the border to meet the Buffalo Jr. Sabres at 3:30 p.m.
