A standout game from the net out gave the Wellington Dukes a gutsy victory over a top-flight West Conference opponent on Wednesday afternoon.
Dryden Riley was the man of the hour with a superb 52-save performance as the Dukes downed the third place Milton Menace 3-1.
Wellington got behind the eight-ball early with Josh Currie beating Riley just 35 seconds into the day, but Riley was not to be beaten the rest of the game.
The Trenton native made 24 stops in the first, carrying the Dukes into period two with a confidence boost.
51 seconds into the middle stanza, Liam Campbell buried a Will Mitchell feed into the far corner on Menace netminder Hayden Duncan for his 19th of the season on a powerplay carried over from the first.
Around three minutes later, Sammy Longo took a bank pass off the side of the Milton net and slid the puck under Duncan for his fourth of the year from Cooper Woron and Blake Berthiaume.
Wellington dug deep and killed off no fewer than four penalties in a row to complete a big step going into the third, which ended up paying off in a solid frame.
Riley continued to be outstanding, including denying a breakaway opportunity and a quick rebound off of that to staple down the win.
Campbell’s second of the game and 20th of the season from Landon Marleau and Evan Erwin in the final minute iced a huge win, the Dukes fourth in their last five.
The Menace outshot the Dukes by better than two-to-one overall, 53-23, but Riley’s first-star performance stole the show in the victory.
Wellington improves to 21-14-3-5 and pads their sixth place hold in the East ahead of another home game versus the Cobourg Cougars on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
