Story by Brock Ormond
Dryden Riley continues to be the ‘King of the Throne’ between the posts for the Wellington Dukes.
The Trenton resident flummoxed and flustered a strong Leamington Flyers outfit with 48 saves on Tuesday at the Showcase in a 2-1 shading.
Riley made 14 stops in the first, 16 in the second and 13 in the third, adding five more in overtime for good measure to keep Wellington in the game.
Kasen Beitz popped his fourth of the season, his fourth game in a row with a goal on a breakaway at 7:25 of the first, before Chase Pettipiece gave Riley his only regulation blemish halfway through the second frame on a powerplay.
Leamington’s Eric Muxlow and Wellington’s Zach Mascard both scored in the shootout before 16-year-old Quinte Red Devils graduate Austin Ottenhof buried the winner in the fifth round on Flyers goalie Tomas Kniazew.
A Riley stop off Josh Cleary stamped a huge win for the Dukes, who improve to 7-2-1-1 on the season with 16 points and keep pace near the top of the East Conference.
The Dukes now head into a matchup with the Burlington Cougars at 4 p.m. Wednesday, looking for their first win against them since 2018.
