The Wellington Dukes battled to a 5-4 overtime loss on the road against the St. Michael’s Buzzers Thursday night.
The loss brings the Dukes to 6-6-0-2 on the season, one spot ahead of the Cobourg Cougars for last in the east division.
On Thursday night St. Michael’s opened the scoring just seconds shy of two minutes into the game on the strength of a goal by forward Nicholas Primomo.
Later in the period Buzzers forward Giacomo Martino took a hooking penalty which sent the Dukes to the power play.
On the man advantage Wellington forward Harrison Ballard knotted the game at one with his sixth goal of the season with assists coming from Emmet Pierce and Brodie McDougall.
Before the end of the first period newly minted Wellington Duke Jack Wolder, a product of the AJHL and recently acquired from the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, scored his first OJHL goal in his first game to bring the score to 2-1 Wellington.
The Buzzers came out swinging in the second period and capitalized on the momentum when Martino scored to knot the game at two.
Minutes later, following a Jacob Dietz hooking penalty, St Michael’s snatched the lead with a Riley Sutherland power play marker.
Just over a minute later Ballard notched his second goal of the game, a solo effort, to bring the game back to a tie at three.
The deadlock would be short lived as before the end of the second period Wellington forward Mason Reeves sent the Buzzers to the power play after a sequence that earned him a goalie interference penalty, a fighting major, a game misconduct and an automatic suspension for removing his helmet which signalled the end of his night.
Forward Will Mitchell also earned a two minute roughing minor on the play.
The Buzzers made no mistake on the power play as six-foot-five defenceman Aidan Shepard scored to retake the lead heading into the intermission.
The two teams battled in the third period and it came down to the wire.
With time ticking down the Dukes pulled goaltender Matt Dunsmoor.
The gamble paid off as Wellington tied the game with the extra man on the ice when another new addition, Graham Dickerson, scored with just over a minute left to eventually send the game to overtime.
In the extra frame it took just one minute for the Buzzers to snag the win as forward Bryce Sutherland scored, sealing a 5-4 overtime win for St. Michael’s.
For his part Dumsmoor made 29 saves on 34 shots faced for the night while the Dukes peppered Buzzers goalie Cole Moore with 46 shots.
Ballard led the way for Wellington with two goals on the night.
The Dukes now look ahead to a matchup at home against the North York Rangers.
The puck drops Friday night at Lehigh arena Friday at 7:30 p.m.
