The Wellington Dukes survived a determined comeback attempt by the Trenton Golden Hawks on the way to a 3-2 win.

A goal by Nicolas Mucci put Wellington up 3-0 in the second period, but Trenton pulled to within one on Brandon Marinelli's tally 15:51 into the third period.

With the win, the Dukes evened the series at 1-1 in the best of seven showdown.

Wellington stifled the Golden Hawks' power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. The Dukes forced Trenton goalie Daniel Urbani to work between the pipes, taking 42 shots.

Wellington was helped by Jacob Panetta, who racked up one goal. Panetta scored 1:45 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Wellington. Shaw Boomhower provided the assist. Wellington also got a goal from Luc Brown as well. More assists for Wellington came via Carter Allen, who had two and Austin Labelle, Tyler Burnie, and Ben Sokay, who contributed one each.

The Golden Hawks put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow the Dukes to score on any of their three power plays. Wellington was unable to stop Trenton from sending pucks towards the net, and the Golden Hawks eventually piled up 41 shots on goal.

Trenton was led by Kevin Lavoie, who tallied one goal and one assist. Lavoie scored 6:46 into the third period to make the score 3-1 Wellington. Lucas Brown assisted on the tally. In addition, Trenton received assists from Liam Morgan and Josh Allan, who each chipped in one.

Sam Tanguay recorded 39 saves for the Dukes. Wellington incurred 18 minutes in penalty time with four minors. The Golden Hawks' Urbani stopped 39 shots out of the 42 that he faced. Trenton incurred six minutes in penalty time with three minors.