After back to back ties to start the Hasty Ps Cup Summit Series (presented by Trent Valley Distributors), the Wellington Dukes have pulled ahead in the 8-game Summit Series, following a 4-1 win Tuesday afternoon.
Like the two previous games, the Dukes jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Tyler Ignazzitto and James White scored first period markers to give the county club another solid start. White’s goal would be his fourth of the series, while Ignazzitto scored against his former club. Shots favoured Trenton 17-11.
The second period was all Trenton, as they would pour 24 shots on Wellington’s Ethan Morrow. Only one squeaked by him. Evan Jamieson scored late in the frame as he broke in alone to make it 2-1. Shots in the second were 24-7 for the G-Hawks.
In the third period, the Dukes would pad their lead, as Cole McGuire scored from a bad angle. James White would score his fifth of the series with just over four minutes left. Trenton would finish the game outshooting the Dukes 59-26, for a three-game shot differential of 164-79 favouring the G-Hawks.
Ethan Morrow had an incredible afternoon, turning aside 58 shots and, in the series, has an impressive 960 save percentage (98 saves on 102 shots).
Dukes coach Derek Smith says, “We played gutsy. For the third game in a row we came out with an early lead. Trenton responded and we were on our heels a lot of the first period. As the game went on, we got better. We took care of pucks in front of Morrow, clearing out rebounds and making sure there were no second chances. Any time you give up 50 shots there are some improvements to be made, especially in your own. Morrow did a great job this afternoon.”
Wellington Co-Captain Ben Addison was thrilled with the performance of his young goaltender. “I think he has been awesome. On Friday he stepped up huge coming in cold, and once again this afternoon he showed up ready to play. He helped us out big time. Morrow is the main reason we won.”
G-Hawks Coach Peter Goulet says, “It keeps coming down to the same things. For the third time in a row we got down 2-0, and Wellington is a good team. If we continue to be down, and let them get the jump on us, we are not going to keep coming back. They are too good, too well coached. We also need to start finding ways to hit the back of the net. We have only six goals in three games.”
“It is nice to get right back at it Wednesday. We have not played a lot in our barn and we need to get used to each other. There are a lot of new players, and once we begin to mesh, we will be good. A strong start in game four is beneficial. We have played a strong second half in each game, so if we can come out hard, that will help,” said Trenton veteran forward Dalton Bancroft.
In the 8-game summit style series, Wellington leads Trenton in points 4-2, with game 4 Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. You can watch the game on YourTV (4/700 Cogeco).
