The Wellington Dukes battled back to win 3-2 in overtime Friday night over their rival Trenton Golden Hawks at the Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Gardens.
It was more than just a spirited win over an arch rival in the Battle of Quinte. It was also the finishing touches on an east division crown and a lock on top spot in the entire Ontario Junior Hockey League.
It was the Golden Hawks who came out of the gates flying.
Jared Gerger pounced on a loose puck to give Trenton an early 1-0 lead.
In the second period, Sullivan Sparkes scored from the slot to pad the Hawk advantage and take a 2-0 lead.
The resilient Dukes stuck with it.
On the power-play, over halfway through the second period, James White sniped one short side on Hawk goaltender Anand Oberoi to give the Dukes some life.
Trenton closed the door for majority of the third period until Ben Woodhouse capitalized on a rebound on the doorstep to tie the game up a two with under three minutes to play in regulation.
With the G-Hawks needing a regulation win, head coach Peter Goulet pulled to goaltender in the last minute of play to try and retake the lead.
The Dukes were able to fight off the attack and send the game into overtime.
With under two minutes to play in 4-on-4 overtime, Dawson Ellis raced down the right win and found Quinn Hanna on a 2-on-1. Hanna ripped a onetime shot past the sprawling Oberoi to cap a 3-2 win for the Dukes.
Matthew Dunsmoor made 30 saves on 32 shots in net for the Dukes. At the other end, Oberoi stopped 29 of 32 for the loss.
The Dukes have now clinched first place in the division and more importantly, home ice advantage over Trenton in a potential second round matchup.
The Golden Hawks will now play the Whitby Fury in the first round of the Buckland Cup playoffs which will begin next week.
The Dukes on the other hand still have one more regular season game Saturday night in the County against the Markham Royals before they battle with the Cobourg Cougars in the first round.
It was also pink in the rink night on Friday in Trenton in support of breast cancer.
The seats were absolutely packed including guests from the Canadian Cancer Society.
