Fabulous beginning

Dukes overturn OJHL champions in season opener

After an offseason of turmoil, it was a home-opening game that few expected. Much better than could have been hoped for. A large crowd greeted the Dukes as they skated on the ice for the first time. The new coaching team of Jacob Panetta and Darcy Murphy took their place behind the bench. Both had been stars on this team more than a decade ago—familiar to many of the Dukes’ faithful. In the stands were alum—Curtis Leonard, Luc Brown, Jacob Hethrington and Brody Morris—who had come to lend their support to Panetta and Murphy as well as the hockey community of Wellington and this storied franchise.

Things started badly. The Trenton Golden Hawks were league champions last season. They are a big, strong and talented team. Soon enough, they had the Dukes trapped in their own end. Chasing pucks. Lost in no man’s land. For some of the young Dukes, this was their first taste of Junior hockey. They were overwhelmed. Soon the puck was behind Jacob Brown, in the net for Wellington.

Next shift, same result. The Golden Hawks had scored twice, and the game wasn’t three and a half minutes old. Silence in the Dukedome.

Coach Panetta called a timeout. It seemed too soon. But it proved to be a shrewd decision. The Dukes players settled down. Slowly. Surely.

The Dukes regained their footing. Winning battles along the wall. Starting to regain territory.

Then defenceman Ethan Fredricks hit Captain Sacha Trudel with a long pass up the wing. Trudel caught the Trenton defender flat-footed, surging past on the wing. Trudel waited until he could see daylight. Hard wrister. Goal. The crowd erupted. This game, at least, wasn’t going to be a rout.

Before the period was over, the Dukes went on a power play. Zach Carrier scored to tie the game at two goals each. But this was Trenton. Dukes fans held their breath during the intermission.

Wellington pressed the cause in the second. Winning races. Working hard. Crafty and enthusiastic. Young forward Lorne Miles sliced the puck deep into the Trenton zone, racing in to retrieve it. The puck came loose to Evan Erwin behind the net. Out to the near slot. Sammy Longo was ready. Quick shot. The Dukes had the lead. 3-2.

Midway through the period, the Dukes were on the power play. Maxime Morin won the puck from a forest of Trenton players along the wall, at the blueline. Cross ice pass to Cole Ellis. Shot/pass. Zach Mascard redirected. Goal. The Dukes had an improbable two-goal lead.

Still, the Dukes coaches calmed their players. Settle down. Continue to work hard. Follow your assignments.

Early in the third, it felt as though it might all unravel. The Golden Hawks’ Taeo Artichuk fired home a rebound to draw his team to within a goal of the Dukes. Moments later, Wellington was in deep trouble. A twoman disadvantage for two minutes.

Wellington defenders bent, but did not break. Brown was solid in the Dukes’ net—not giving any easy targets. Meanwhile, the Dukes players were filling the lanes, challenging the shooters and clearing the puck when they had a chance.

A rousing cheer went up when the Dukes’ penalized players returned to the ice. The Dukes had withstood the test.

Sacha Trudel added another power play goal in the period. The Dukes had to defend two more penalties—one coming in the final minute of the game. Trenton pulled their netminder—another twoman advantage. But the Dukes and Jacob Brown locked the door.

The celebration was on. The crowd was on their feet. It felt like a playoff series win. Unexpected. Joyful. And a small window into what this team might be.

Coach Panetta praised his young team for settling down after a rough start to the game.

“We have a lot of young guys,” said Panetta. “Some without Junior A experience. It took a while to settle down.”

On calling the timeout so early in the game, Coach Panetta said he had to disrupt the pattern that was playing out.

“The first five minutes were tough,” said Panetta. “We had inexperienced guys trying to do too much. We needed to halt their momentum. We had to calm our guys down and settle back into our game.”

It worked.

Perhaps the most compelling statistic in this game: The Golden Hawks didn’t score a goal with the man or two-man advantage. The Dukes score three goals on four power plays.

“Special teams were fantastic,” said Panetta. “Going three for four on the power play and shutting out Trenton on seven power plays was huge.

Coach Panetta singled out his netminder, Jacob Brown, for keeping his team in the game with some brilliant stops and general solid play in the Dukes’ net. He noted the brilliant work by his young defence corps as well as Captain Sacha Trudel with a pair of timely goals.

“Our captain came through when we needed him most,” said Panetta. “He enabled us to get back in the game.”

Aside from a wobble early on, Wellington showed they are ready for a new season and worthy of the Dukes’ tradition.