Wellington Dukes fans, players and coaches alike can breathe a little easier – the team has found its way back to the win column.
Liam Campbell, Zach Mascard and Will Mitchell recorded three points each in a 4-2 victory over the Niagara Falls Canucks at the Gale Centre on Friday night.
Campbell gave Wellington an early start with the opening goal just 1:24 into the contest, finishing off a rush with Mascard and Mitchell and the Dukes stamped down their defensive play in the first period to maintain the one-goal lead into the intermission break.
Niagara Falls would eventually break through on a Ben Theron marker at 6:37, but less than three minutes later, the Dukes provided another response.
Captain Sacha Trudel stormed in and beat Dylan Bourque for his seventh of the season from Kyle Grasby and Ethan Murray to take the lead back at 9:27.
The team hung onto the lead until about three minutes into the third, when Brandon Gauthier beat Royden Smith to deadlock the game again, but nothing was going to stop the Dukes from grabbing their victory.
Lifted by some support from a Belleville Jr. Bulls rep team in town for a minor hockey tournament, the Dukes wrestled momentum away with the eventual game-winner at 8:58 from Campbell on a snap shot past Bourque.
Mascard lasered home the insurance marker with seven minutes or so to play for his 10th of the season to stamp the Dukes first win since October 1, snapping a 14-game winless skid.
The night ended on a scrappy note with Vince Albanese dropping the gloves and engaging in a fight with Theron, but in the end, the Dukes were all smiles as they carried two big points out of the Falls.
The shots finished 47-47, with Smith played a stable role in the win, making 45 saves.
Wellington improves to 8-9-2-4 on the season with 22 points ahead of another road game in Aurora on Saturday at 7 p.m.
