Champions

Dukes win in overtime to claim the Buckland Cup at home in Wellington

He permitted a smile as he clutched the Brett Ladds Trophy. Wellington Dukes Captain Colin Doyle had been all business through the playoffs until then—185 pounds of determination, grit and tenacity. He never relaxed. Never took a shift off. Just focus—intense and pure. Aimed at inspiring, nudging and pushing his team forward.

Rarely has the league’s most valuable player award gone to a more worthy individual.

There are many other great stories on this Dukes team. The brilliance of Jonah Capriotti in the Dukes net. The clutch contributions of Frank Pucci, Andrew Barbeau, Josh Supryka and Bryce Yetman. There were the wounded, both playing and sidelined. The breathtaking skill and speed of Mitchell Martan and Teddy McGeen. And a defence corps that got better with every game in the playoffs.

MVP: Captain Colin Doyle led his team in every category—points and goals. But it was Doyle’s work away from the puck that inspired his team to reach further, push harder and give more—even when they thought there was nothing left to give.

But it was the work ethic of Doyle—every day, every game. Hard in the corners, hard to the net and hard back up the ice to back check. This is how hockey series are won—how legends are made.

Georgetown is an exceptional team. They proved it in back to back games earlier in the series. But when the Dukes pressed the Raiders, played their structured, well-coached game, Georgetown became ordinary. That is what tenacity does.

And then this happens.

Ben Evans moves from behind the net with the puck. He looks to carry it out into open ice. But then. Deceptively. Astonishingly, he deftly slides a back-hand pass, back behind the net onto Frank Pucci’s waiting stick. Of the thousand plus folks crammed into the Dukedome on Sunday night, it might only have been Pucci who expected to see that pass come back to him. When he got it, he buried it.

Pure genius. OT winner. Series winner. Championship winner.

HOW WE GOT HERE
After taking the first two games of the series rather handily, the Dukes ran into some trouble. The Raiders had adjusted their game to prevent the odd-man rush gifts that the Dukes had exploited so ably in the early going.

In Georgetown, seven power play goals. Part officiating. Part lack of discipline. 8-0 loss.

The Dukes looked to rebound at home in game four. It was tight well-played game. For most of two periods. The score went back and forth. As the second period grew old, however, two tough Raider goals. These were saves Capriotti makes. Always. Two bad misses. While still a bit rattled, Capriotti looked to lob the puck into the neutral zone, but secondguessed himself, dumping it into the corner. Seconds later the puck was behind him. The game was effectively over.

It wasn’t a bad game. Just a bad four minutes. But that is all it takes when competing against a high-powered team like the Georgetown Raiders.

Redemption came in game five. After giving up the early goal, the Dukes carried the play in the first two periods—creating a series of great scoring opportunities. Yet it was Doyle who would bust through traffic deep in the Georgetown zone to retrieve the puck. Out to Mackenzie Warren—who is having an exceptional playoff on the Dukes blueline. Warren released a waist-high change up. Yetman redirected. Goal.

The game remained tied until the middle of the third. The Dukes were killing a penalty. Geoff Lawson broke up a Georgetown rush, sliding the puck to Yetman. To McGeen. Back to Yetman on the wing. Two on one. Defender sprawled to prevent the pass back to McGeen in the slot. But Yetman never looked at McGeen. He was picking his corner target. Then suddenly Yetman pushed the puck back to McGeen—the defender now out of the play. McGeen shot. Goal. Dukes led 2-1. McGeen and Andrew Rinaldi combined on the third goal. And the Dukes held on for the win. In Game 6 in front of the largest crowd of the season, the Dukes spotted the Raiders a two-goal lead. In the second, however, Captain Doyle would not be denied. The Dukes point men managed to hem the Raiders in their own end. Martan picked up the puck off the wall and backhanded a hard pass cross ice onto Yetman’s stick. Shot. Save. Rebound. Doyle was on the edge of the blue paint. First swat nothing. Cross-checked to the ice. Second swat from his knees and the puck was in the net. Two swats and the puck was in the net. The comeback had begun.

Raising the Buckland Cup on high—the Dukes capped an incredible and improbable run through the 2018 playoffs. Next stop: Dryden, Ontario.

Evans has always been an amazing and creative playmaker—but earlier in the series he appeared to be hobbled by injury. However, as this series progressed Evans found more room to innovate. Two minutes after Doyle’s goal. Evans carried the puck into the zone—nearly giving it up and then taking it back. Like bait. Two more strides to the net. Shot. Rebound. Evans recovered the puck, but rather than stuff it into Timpano’s pads, Evans slid the puck across the blue paint to Frank Pucci. Wide open net. The Dukes had tied the game at two goals apiece.

Then Josh Supryka in an individual tour-de-force gathered the puck from the corner. Through the slot. Through traffic. Still with the puck as he neared the far corner. His backhand shot caught every Raider out of position. The Dukes led for the first time in the game.

It didn’t last. Georgetown pressed. Hemming the Dukes in their own zone. Tightening. The shot from the point caught the near corner.

Overtime. Eight minutes in, the Dukes controlled the play. Lawson across the blueline to Mason Snell. Snell to Mendonca in the far face-off circle. Shot. Rebound. Pucci battles in the corner. Wins the puck. To Evans. Astonishing pass back to Pucci. Goal.

And the Dukes had won the OJHL Championship. Just like that.

ON TO THE DUD
On the weekend the Dukes head to Dryden, Ontario representing the OJHL in the Dudley Hewitt Cup.

Representing the Superior Junior Hockey League will be host Dryden Ice Dogs and the Thunder Bay North Stars. Representing the Northern Junior Hockey League will be either the Cochrane Crunch or the Rayside Balfour Canadiens. Game seven of their season was played on Tuesday night.

For those interested in driving to the tournament, note that Dryden is 20 hours away. Six hours further than driving to Summerside, PEI. About the same time as it takes to drive to Orlando, Florida. So pack a lunch and a few audio books.

SEND OFF CELEBRATION
Dukes fans are invited to join the team for a barbecue at the Wellington and District Community Centre on Saturday afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m.

The team will be on the ice for one last practice from 1 to 1:45 p.m. Come out and give the boys a memorable sendoff.

LIVE STREAMING
Want to follow the Wellington Dukes as they battle for the Dudley Hewitt Cup? Games will be streamed live at the Highline Hall. Admission is $5 per person. The bar will be open. The first game will be May 1 at 8:30 p.m.