Just enough

Dukes must find another gear, sooner

Has the Dukes’ success early this season lulled this upstart team into complacency? A misplaced sense that every game would be within reach by the third, at which time, the Dukes’ stars would turn up the gas and overpower their opponents on the way to yet another victory? Comfort can be a killer in sports.

WELLINGTON 2 – HALIBURTON 0
The Dukes sleepwalked through much of the game at home last week against the Haliburton County Huskies. The Huskies are struggling this season, though the team still has weapons it can use to do damage.

But this was a dull affair. Much of the game was fought in the neutral zone—a wee patch of ice. Neither team ventured often or long in the offensive zone. After two periods, there was still no score. Newmarket had managed just 10 shots in the frame. They would register zero in the third.

The Dukes dialled up the intensity, but didn’t get a shot on net until later in the period. Fortunately, that shot beat Huskies netminder Carter Nadon. Zach Mascard, his third of the season, from Quinn McNamara and Kyle Grasby.

Both teams returned to the middle of the ice. A late push by Haliburton in the Dukes’ zone resulted in a turnover to Dukes forward Vince Albanese. Pass to Zach Carrier, who lobbed the puck 160 feet into the empty Huskies’ net.

Royden Smith earned the shutout—his second in four games this season. Despite the low shot count, Smith turned away some threatening shots, stifling Haliburton’s low-octane offence.

NEWMARKET 6 – WELLINGTON 2
The near miss at home seems not to have left an impression on the Dukes squad. The Newmarket Hurricanes should not have been a surprise to Wellington. The former Toronto Junior Canadiens were a competitive team for several seasons before picking up and moving sticks to the top of the 404.

But the Hurricanes’ record was uneven coming into just their second home game of the latest iteration of the team. A winning record, but just.

So it came as a rude awakening to see Newmarket score three unanswered goals in the first period. The scoring spree included a power play goal as the Dukes claimed the first four penalties of the game.

Zach Carrier responded late in the first period, but another Hurricane power play goal midway through the second restored the hometown’s three-goal lead. Beckham Brooks tallied in the second, but that was all the Dukes had. Newmarket added a couple more in the third, including an empty-netter—as Wellington attempted to mount a late comeback.

Colby Booth-Housego took the loss in the Dukes’ net, his first loss in four starts.

Just 287 fans filed into the cavernous 3,700-seat Ray Twinney arena on Saturday.

How will the Dukes respond? The coming week may tell the tale. Yesterday afternoon, the Dukes were in North York. By Monday, the Rangers had failed to win a game this season. We will know by Wednesday whether the jolt in Newmarket was enough to persuade the Dukes to turn up the intensity at the opening face-off, rather than save it until it is too late.

UP NEXT: ST. MICHAEL’S BUZZERS, LINDSAY, AURORA AND STOUFFVILLE
In a bizarre twist of the OJHL schedule, the Dukes are hosting a matinee game this afternoon (Wednesday, 2:30 p.m.). St. Michael’s is in town riding a three-game winning streak. The Buzzers are a proven threat on the power play, so the Dukes must button down team discipline.

On Friday night, the Dukes should be at home— but are instead travelling to Lindsay, where 200 fans may make their way down to the rink. The Muskies are hovering around the middle of the pack after the first month of the season.

The Dukes mounted a late charge against Lindsay late in September, stealing a victory in the Kawarthas.

Aurora visits Wellington on Sunday afternoon. The once-powerful Tigers have managed just three wins in nine games this season, losing their last five games.

The following afternoon, the Dukes head up to Stouffville, looking for a different outcome from their Sept. 6 loss to the Spirit at home.