The Wellington Dukes tried to dig themselves out of a three-goal hole, but the Trenton Golden Hawks held on for a 4-2 victory.

Trenton made the score 4-1 on a goal by Liam Morgan at 11:16 in the third period, and Wellington got as close as 4-2 when Abbott Girduckis scored 18:23 into the third period.

The win by the Golden Hawks clinched the best of seven series at 4-0.

Trenton was paced by Nick Santoro, who tallied one goal and one assist. Santoro scored 6:46 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Trenton. Braedyn Asselstine picked up the assist.

The Golden Hawks kept the Dukes' goalie busy throughout the game, and Daniel Potter made 29 saves on 33 shots.

Trenton also had goals scored by Danny Liscio and Hunter Fargey, who scored one goal each. In addition, Trenton received assists from Tyler Donaldson, Matt Pizzo, and Zach de Concilys, who each chipped in one.

Wellington excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in four chances. The Dukes forced Trenton goalie Justin Kapelmaster to work between the pipes, taking 34 shots.

Will Cook also scored for Wellington. More assists for Wellington came via Jacob Panetta, who had two and Jacob Hetherington and Joe McKeown, who contributed one each.

Justin Kapelmaster made 32 saves for the Golden Hawks on 34 shots. Trenton ended with 11 minutes in penalty time with three minors and one major. The Golden Hawks ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Blayne Oliver was ejected from the game. Wellington incurred 28 minutes in penalty time with four minors.