The Wellington Dukes celebrate a goal in their 2-1 RBC Cup Semi-final victory in Chilliwack, BC. The franchise plays in its first ever national final Sunday at 7 p.m. EST versus the host Chiefs. (Photo: RBC Cup/Twitter)
Players, coaches and fans of the Wellington Dukes have certainly known what their goaltender has brought to the team all season long in terms of his play and resilience.
Now, the rest of Canada is aware of the name Jonah Capriotti.
The Mount Hope, Ont. native made 50 saves on 51 Wenatchee Wild shots in the Dukes 2-1 semi-final triumph over the previously-undefeated Pacific Region representatives Saturday.
This show-stealing performance came just two days after Capriotti was pulled in a 7-1 round robin loss to that same Wild club on Thursday.
He even added a secondary assist on Bryce Yetman’s first period tally for good measure.
The Dukes only put 14 shots of their own on the Wenatchee net, but made two of them count. Belleville resident Daniel Panetta scored under seven minutes into the third for the eventual game-winning goal, tipping a Frank Pucci pass through the legs of Wild goalie Austin Park. Mitch Martan added the other helper.
Declan Carlile also pitched in with an assist in the win.
The victory propels the Dukes into the National Junior A final for the first time in franchise history. The previous two RBC Cup appearances in Charlottetown, PEI in 2003 and Camrose, Alberta in 2011 both ended in semi-final defeats for Wellington.
The County club takes on the host Chilliwack Chiefs at 7 p.m. EST in a game that can be seen live on TSN. Chilliwack edged the East Region champion Ottawa Jr. Senators 3-2 late Saturday night in the other semi-final.
You can watch highlights of the semi-final below.
? | Highlights and reaction from the @OJHLDukes' 2-1 semifinal win over the @WenatcheeWild1. #RBCCup pic.twitter.com/zLtI4fT18V
— RBC Cup (@HC_RBCCup) May 20, 2018
