A key game produced a important and successful result for the Wellington Dukes on Tuesday.
A Liam Campbell hat trick, 12 combined points from him, Evan Erwin and Landon Marleau and 37 saves from Dryden Riley in his home debut helped the Dukes run away from the St. Michael’s Buzzers 6-2.
Erwin and Campbell struck in rapid fire succession within five seconds with sharp shots glove-side, believed to be the two of the quickest sets of goals in Dukes history, to get the team off and flying in the first two minutes.
Both teams settled in for a tough defensive battle, with Riley and Jonathan Frattaroli settling in until a Josh Caloiero tally with seven-plus minutes left in the second cut into the deficit.
The middle period also featured a rare and spirited bout between captains, with Sacha Trudel and Daniel Yorke dropping the gloves.
Campbell roofed his second of the game on a feed from Erwin just shy of two minutes into the third, but the Buzzers continued to be a tough out, with Julian Mandarino cutting back
The Dukes needed a huge insurance marker and got one when Will Mitchell made a mad dash off a poke check to catch up to the loose puck and laser a shot over Frattaroli on the short-side with 4:10 to go.
A Cole Ellis empty-netter and the hat trick goal from Campbell gave the Dukes a slightly more lopsided win than the game indicated.
St. Mike’s outshot Wellington 39-33, but the Dukes leapfrogged the Buzzers for sixth in the East with 46 points and a 19-13-3-5 record, with three games still in hand.
The Dukes surge into a three-game weekend with a Friday night home affair with the Markham Royals at 7:30 p.m.
