Milton vanquishes Wellington in shootout, 4-3 (2-1 SO)
Three periods of regulation and an overtime session were not enough to settle matters as the Milton Icehawks defeated the Wellington Dukes in a shootout 4-3 (2-1 SO).
The shootout featured eight attempts between both teams. Wellington's shootout goal was scored by Erick Delaurentis. In addition to the clincher, Milton got a shootout goal from Shane Bennett.
The Icehawks overcame a two-goal deficit to capture the victory. Milton was down 3-1 after a goal by the Dukes' Maurizio Colella at 13:13 in the second period. The Icehawks tied things up at 3-3 on a goal by Josh Pace at 6:16 in the third period.
Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 4:50 into the second period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with two game misconducts.
Milton stifled Wellington's power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. The Icehawks' offense rang up 40 shots on the Dukes' net.
Others who scored for Milton included Mitch Graham and Bennett, who each put in one. More assists for Milton came via Tyler Burns, Alex Riche, Jake Baird, Jeremy Gottzmann, Ryan Burns, and Joseph Benvenuto, who each chipped in one.
Wellington kept Milton's goalie busy throughout the game, and Ben Blacker made 30 saves on 33 shots.
Wellington also had goals scored by Mike Soucier and Kyle Paat, who scored one goal each. In addition, Wellington received assists from Chad Thibodeau, Mike Robinson, Abbot Girduckis, and Joe McKeown, who contributed one a piece.
The Icehawks totaled 13 minutes in penalty time with four minors and one major and went 1-for-7 on the power play. Milton ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Graham was ejected from the game. Tyson Teichmann made 36 saves for the Dukes on 39 shots. Wellington totaled 17 minutes in penalty time with six minors and one major and went 0-for-3 on the power play. For the Dukes, Thibodeau was ejected from the game.
