Story courtesy Wellington Dukes website

The Buckland Cup is coming home to Prince Edward County. (Photo by Tim Bates / OJHL Images)

Frank Pucci converted on a fancy Ben Evans pass at 8:19 of the first overtime period to take the Wellington Dukes to the top of the OJHL mountain for the first time since 2011 with a 4-3 win over the Georgetown Raiders in Game 6.

The night started off on the wrong note for Wellington with two Raiders goals in under a minute midway through the first period. The red-hot Matt McJannet started the scoring off with a powerplay goal after a heads-up pass courtesy of large 6-foot-7 defenceman Jake Payette. Jordan Crocker also helped out on the tally at 9:57, McJannet's fifth goal in his last two games at the Duke Dome. Then, at 10:50, Justin Paul deflected a Payette point shot through Capriotti's legs to put Georgetown in the driver's seat. The Dukes, showing the hard overall team work ethic and resiliency that have been hallmarks of their play during the season, refused to quit and continued to pound Raiders goalie Troy Timpano with shots from close range. Nothing got past the ex-Erie Otter however and the period ended 2-0 in favour of Georgetown on the scoreboard. The Dukes led the shot count 13-7.

Wellington's momentum carried right over into the second period, as they managed to fight back with a couple quick goals of their own. Captain Colin Doyle buried his eighth of the postseason after Timpano couldn't find a loose puck in his crease. Bryce Yetman got the initial shot off for one assist and Noah Lugli added the secondary helper at 2:43. Less than two minutes later, Pucci buried his first of two on the night, following up by converting the rebound from a Ben Evans shot. Pucci's second of the playoffs was also assisted by Mitch Mendonca at the 4:25 mark. The score remained tied until a familiar face stepped up to put the Dukes out in front. Josh Supryka tamed a rolling puck and was able to lift a backhand shot over Timpano for his second of the playoffs, helped out by Andrew Rinaldi and Mitch Martan at 14:03. Austin Cho's shot from the blueline that eluded Capriotti rounded out the scoring and tied the score again at 18:37 from Crocker and McJannet. The shots finished even at 13 apiece.

A scoreless third period saw Georgetown compile 18 shots to Wellington's eight, but Capriotti was brilliant once again. Perhaps Wellington's biggest play in the frame was on the defensive end, when Martan swiped a puck on the stick of McJannet, setting the stage for a dramatic finish.

In overtime, both teams had their fair share of chances. Doyle missed on a close breakaway for Wellington, while Georgetown put five fruitless shots on Capriotti.

Then, the fireworks started.

After great cycle work down low, Evans guarded the puck just enough to allow for Raiders players to gravitate towards him. That in turn led to Evans finding a hole with the nifty half-blind pass onto Pucci's stick, who wasted no time in depositing his second marker of the game and third of the playoffs, locking up their first Buckland Cup in seven years and setting off a frenzied celebration inside the Duke Dome.

1,115 loud and proud fans were treated to an outstanding hockey game and a wonderful series, culminating in a rousing championship celebration on Duke Dome ice for the second time in history.

Wellington has now won their third Buckland Cup in franchise history, after their wins in 2003 and 2011. The win also propels the Dukes to their fourth Dudley Hewitt Cup Tournament, being held in Dryden this season. (Fort Frances- 2003, Huntsville- 2011, host in 2014). The Dukes will join the host and Superior International Hockey League champion Icedogs, SIJHL finalists Thunder Bay North Stars and the winner of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League championship between the Rayside-Balfour Canadians and Cochrane Crunch at the tournament running May 1-5.

The Dukes will get some time off to celebrate and relax before heading out on their lengthy trip, with hopefully lots of Dukes fans in tow. For those not making the trip, you can follow along on the Dudley Hewitt Cup website and watch every game on Hockey TV live from Dryden, Ontario.