Wellington Duke goaltender Ethan Morrow was the star of game three in the Hasty P’s Cup stopping 58 of the 59 shots he faced as the Dukes took game three with a score of 4-1. Photo submitted by Timothy Bates/OJHL Images
By James Tubb [1]
BELLEVILLE – The Wellington Dukes [2] took over game three and have themselves a 1-0 series lead.
After back-to-back ties in game one and two, the Dukes rode the backs of forward James White [3] and goaltender Ethan Morrow [4] to the win over the Trenton Golden Hawks [5].
The story of the game was Dukes goaltender Ethan Morrow who stole the show in game three stopping 58 of the 59 shots he faced.
“It’s definitely exciting how he’s played, all you can ask from a goalie is that he makes some saves,” Dukes coach Derek Smith said.
The 16-year-old Morrow has been near perfect in the two games he’s started for Wellington, stopping 98 of 102 shots this series.
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The Dukes jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Tyler Ignazzitto [6] and White in the first period. Trenton chipped away in the second with a goal late in the period from Evan Jamieson. [7]
Wellington would add two more goals in the third period to drive their lead to 4-1, the final score. Defenceman Cole McGuire [8] scored early in the third and James White potted his second of the game to give the Dukes their insurance marker.
The two goals in game three add to White’s explosive start to the series as the 20-year-old has five goals through the first three games.
For Trenton, the lack of offense has started to become a problem for head coach/GM Peter Goulet.
“We couldn’t score three games in a row,” said Goulet.
“We had a lot of one and done’s on offense.”
The Golden hawks have six goals so far in the series and have greatly out shot the Dukes 144-79 through the first three games. They just aren’t getting the results that coach Goulet is looking for.
“We need a better start. We are getting and creating our opportunities, but need more,” he said.
Marko Jakovljevic #24 of the Trenton Golden Hawks battles for the puck with Tyler Ignazzitto #17 of the Wellington Dukes during the second period of game three. (Photo by Tim Bates / OJHL Images)
For Wellington, coach Smith is happy with the result of game three but sees room for improvement on the ice.
“Giving up 50 shots isn’t good. Morrow kept us in the game. We have to clean up the decisions we make in the game,” Smith said.
“Our first touches of the puck need to be better.”
Game four will be a close match as Trenton looks to rebound from the loss in their own barn and Wellington looks to capitalize on the momentum and increase their 1-0 series lead.
“I truly expect our guys to play the best of the series in game four,” said Trenton coach Peter Goulet.
Game four gets underway at the Duncan Memorial arena in Trenton on Wednesday. Puck drops at 1:30.