The Aurora Tigers remained winless in 2024, succumbing on Sunday afternoon to the Wellington Dukes 8-1 at the Lehigh Arena.
It was the struggling squad's third consecutive loss, after an uplifting 4-3 road win versus the Admirals in Caledon prior to the Christmas Break. The Tigers are 1-3 on their current road trip.
During this quartet of road trip games through Caledon, Trenton, Toronto, and Wellington, the rebuilding, rookie-laden Tigers lineup has been outscored 31-7. The Admirals hold down the eleventh spot in the OJHL's Western Conference standings, but the Golden Hawks (#1), Junior Canadiens (#3), and Dukes (#2) comprise the top three teams in the Eastern Conference.
Adam Matar got the Tigers (11-27-2-2) on the scoreboard at 12:38 of the second period versus Wellington, but the Dukes had built a 6-0 lead prior to the rookie forward's goal. Jobey Pearson and Liam Longo earned assists on Matar's third of the season.
Wellington (25-15-0-2) led 4-0 before the 14-minute mark of the opening frame. The offensive outburst included two power play goals. Remarkably, the second-place Dukes tallied a pair of empty net goals at 4:02 and 10:03 of the second period as Tigers' Coach Tom Milne pulled goaltender Will Goumas to stoke the competitive fires of his young team.
Dukes' leading scorer Corey Jewitt closed the scoring at 11:23 of the final frame after opening the scoring at 4:20 of the first period. Jewitt is 21st in the OJHL scoring race with 21 goals and 25 assists.
The Dukes outshot the Tigers 47-22.
The Tigers' tough six-game road trip concludes this weekend.
On Friday, Aurora takes on St. Mike's in Toronto. On Saturday, the Oakville Blades will provide the opposition.
By Jim Stewart
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