It took a while for Pickering to get going in this one, as Ian Michelone kept them in the game until the third. They were outshot by Wellington 34-14 over the first two periods, yet they still managed to go into the third tied 1-1, thanks to a goal by Blake Wright, assisted by Kyle Costello and Joey Zhang. Wellington responded with two early goals in the third, with Trudel scoring twice overall, and Vreugdenhil and former Panther Mascard each adding a goal. Pickering closed the gap to 3-2 when Joey Zhang scored his 8th of the season on a power play, assisted by Kailin Chen and Joseph Cadorin. However, the Dukes sealed the victory in the final minute with an empty-net goal.
Michelone put in a strong performance for Pickering with 39 saves on 42 shots, while Wellington’s Lisson stopped 23 of 25 shots in his OJHL debut. Both teams ended the game 1 for 5 on power plays.
The Panthers’ next game is Sunday night, November 3rd, at 7:30 pm at home against the league-leading Leamington Flyers.
