Lisson brilliant as Dukes fall short versus Blues

Story by Brock Ormond

Photo: Wellington Dukes/OJHL Images

The Wellington Dukes put forth a gutsy effort against another tough opponent and came up short by a goal on Sunday.

The defending national Junior A champion Collingwood Blues stymied the Dukes, holding them to just 16 shots in a 3-2 decision at Lehigh Arena.

Jack Lisson kept the Dukes in the game with 38 saves on 41 Collingwood chances in an outstanding performance between the posts.

Collingwood went up 1-0 on a Marcus Lougheed tally in the first, and Damen Boose ripped a shot off the right wing 35 seconds into the second stanza to extend the lead.

A penalty-filled middle period saw the Dukes take advantage of a two-man powerplay with Cory Jewitt converting a one-timer off a setup from Jared McNeil and Riley Noble for his fourth of the season.

Daniel Markevych’s long shot from the point snuck through traffic and beat Lisson upstairs at the 2:58 mark of the third for the eventual game-winner.

Zach Mascard drew Wellington back to a one-goal deficit, when took an intercepted pass from Noble, deked out a Collingwood defender and stuck a shot through Colten Drillen-Roach’s legs for a shorthanded marker late in the game, but it was not enough.

The Dukes drop to 4-5 on the season and will head to North York for a 4:30 Tuesday affair against the last-place Rangers.