The young and the restless

Cam Nicholl of Loretto, Ontario provided a gritty energy to the Dukes lineup on Friday, earning a goal in the 4-1 win against Kingston.

Dukes flex muscles as rivalry renewed with Kingston

The Wellington Dukes racked up a pair of convincing wins over the Kingston Voyageurs over the weekend—each game ramping up the intensity—foreshadowing, perhaps, the renewal of a spirited rivalry this season.

Dukes fans will remember it was the upstart Voyageurs that bounced the Dukes out of the playoffs in the first round last February. But the Dukes earned a measure of revenge in a pair of outings on the weekend—winning both games—though on Friday just four members of last year’s squad were in the lineup.

On Friday, fleet-footed sniper Mike Soucier whacked home a loose puck to give his new team the lead just a couple minutes into the game. Gritty forward Cam Nicholl earned a hard-fought goal. Parker Wood was ready with great hands as Soucier fed a pass from the corner to the winger’s stick. Austin Broadhurst took a cross-ice pass from veteran Craig Campbell and buried his shot past the Kingston netminder giving his team a four goal lead.

Sixteen-year-old Hayden Lavigne and Andrew Pearson shared duties in net. Pearson had the lone Kingston goal get past him; though he managed to stop the breakaway shot, the momentum of his returning defenders ushered the puck into the net.

But that was it. The Dukes skated to a tidy 4- 1 victory—but not before the Dukes’ Cole Bolton and Kingston’s Taylor Brown (brother of former Dukes captain Chris Brown) squared off to sort out some on-ice grievances.

Gananoque’s Wyatt Cota scored his first goal as a Duke in Sunday’s 5-3 win over Kingston.

CAPTAIN LEADS WAY
On Sunday, Jan Kaminsky scored twice and earned an assist, leading his team to a 5-3 win on Sunday in Kingston. Erick Delaurentis, Craig Campbell and former Gananoque Islander Wyatt Cota also tallied for the Dukes.

Marc Williams went the distance in goal for the Dukes, earning the win.

HEART AND SOUL
Kaminsky is leading a team with a lot of youth and a lot of heart but not a lot of Junior ‘A’ experience. He is one of only a few returning players from last year’s squad. The 2012 Dukes are a young team and that means the role of captain takes on greater significance.

Kaminsky is ready for the challenge. He is bright, talented and a hardworking athlete who sees his goals clearly and does what it takes to achieve them. He has a strong pedigree: his dad played hockey professionally in Russia and then in the NHL. His dad remains active in developing and nurturing hockey talent in Atlanta, Georgia and Duluth, Minnesota. His mom was a worldclass acrobat and gymnast while still in Russia.

Now she is busy raising Jan’s younger brother and sister.

Cole Bolton squared off against Kingston’s Taylor Brown—brother of former Dukes captain Chris Brown—in the third period on Friday night.

“There is a lot of responsibility on my shoulders,” admits Kaminsky. “Particularly as captain of the Dukes—the great hockey tradition and fan base that is part of this team. It puts a lot of pressure on me but I think I can handle it.”

Kaminsky sees his young team coming together nicely after just a couple of weeks of training camp.

“It is going to be an exciting season,” said the captain. “The team is going to be young—but there is a lot of skill and a lot of heart in that dressing room. Everybody is working hard—because they want to be here. Everyone is gelling very quickly and becoming one on the ice. They are going to put a lot of effort on the ice.”

Kaminsky said the weekend games against Kingston offered a good window for the new players to see what playing hockey at this level means.

“There was a lot of hitting and a lot of intense game play. It was good for the new kids to experience that and to see them respond in the right way. They now know what it takes to win against teams in this league.”

KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Kaminsky says it is too soon to know who will win the battle for netminding duties among the players still vying for the coveted role.

“They are all young, yet making great saves. They’re making the decision really hard—as it should be.”

He is urging the newcomers on defence to keep things uncomplicated.

“Kyle Paat and Austin Broadhurst are leading a group of young guys who want to succeed. Everybody has their ears open and are listening to the leaders. They are learning to keep things simple—move the puck up to the forwards quickly.”

It is on the forward line the Dukes have a bit more veteran depth.

“We have two lines of veteran forwards coming back including guys such as Craig Campbell, Erick Delaurentis and Josh Gervais. We are there to lead and the remaining forwards are fast and possess great hands. “I don’t expect one standout goal scorer in this lineup—we are all going be working hard to put the puck in the net.”

Kaminsky is eager to underline the importance of becoming a cohesive team in order to win. “Everyone is gelling together early on in the season— that is a very good sign.”

UP NEXT
The Dukes welcome back the Kingston Voyageurs to Wellington Friday night and round out their preseason series with the Vees with a trip to Kingston on Sunday, September 2. Then the team is off to the green hills of Vermont to skate in the Woodchuck Classic in South Burlington the following weekend.

The Dukes open the regular season in Kingston on September 13 and then welcome last year’s OJHL Championship challenger Whitby Fury to Wellington on Friday, September 14.