Story by Brock Ormond
Photo: OJHL Images/Wellington Dukes
15 shots on goal and 30 saves from Jacob Brown were all the Wellington Dukes would need in a key victory on Sunday.
The Dukes edged the Haliburton County Huskies 2-1 at Lehigh Arena, lifted by some timely offence.
Captain Cory Jewitt got Wellington on the board first, slapping a Ryan Castle pass in the far corner behind Tyler Hodges for his 15th of the season.
Ryan Schaap added the second assist on the opening marker at 5:23.
Period two belonged to the Huskies, as the visitors outshot Wellington 13-4, but the Dukes sterling penalty kill proved to be effective and directly led to the difference-making goal.
Brown barred the door with big help from the defence on a frantic scramble and out of the flurry of activity, Kyle Kavc cleared the zone and sprung Sacha Trudel off the bench for a last-ditch effort.
The Montreal, Quebec deked and stuck a backhand shot under Hodges with only a few seconds left in the period for his 12th of the year.
Jewitt was credited with the second assist on what turned out to be the game-winning tally.
Nathan Poole shoved through a group of Dukes defenders to beat Brown with 2:51 to play in the third and break his shutout, but the Dukes held off the Huskies and pulled out their fifth win in six games and snapped Haliburton’s four game winning streak in the process.
The Dukes are now 22-10-0-1 and go to three points up on the Huskies for 2nd place in the East, with a six-game point streak in the bank.
Wellington plays at home against another rival, the Cobourg Cougars, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
