Story by Brock Ormond
Photo: Wellington Dukes/OJHL Images
There was no-near comeback for the Wellington Dukes on Saturday night in Oakville.
The host Blades pulled off a pair of quick markers early in the second period to drop the Dukes 4-1 and win their first game of the season at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.
Oakville’s Ben Theron got the scoring started with a high shot that beat Gabe Donohue at 14:33 of the first period.
Ryan Schaap knotted the score with a laser shot top shelf on a powerplay at 17:13 after Cory Jewitt and Riley Noble cycled it to him for a clear look.
Oakville came out flying in the early goings of the second stanza, scoring twice in 32 seconds courtesy of Evan Le Conte and Michael Lee.
In a reversal of the previous night, Donohue was pulled in favour of Jack Lisson, who stabilized the net for the rest of the night.
The Dukes couldn’t put any dents in Blades goaltender Chris Quizi, despite a solid push in the third and Oakville wound up putting the game away when Theron was sprung for his second of the night at the 13:42 mark.
The Dukes outshot Oakville 29-24 but fell to 2-3 on the young OJHL season as they get primed for the OJHL Governor’s Showcase in Niagara Falls next week.
They’ll get a stiff test in their first game on Tuesday at 8 p.m. when they take on one of the West Conference’s best, the Leamington Flyers at the Gale Centre.
