Parker Wood hunts for a rebound in Lindsay on Friday night.

Dukes in battle for playoff spot

It is truly a different Wellington Dukes season. The team and its fans are used to coming back from the Christmas break with their team locked in a fight for the top spot in their division.

This season, however, the new year anxiety isn’t about holding onto first place— but rather hanging onto a playoff spot. Currently the Dukes are ahead of just three teams in the North East conference (Under the current format only the top eight teams in North East move on to the playoffs). Two teams won’t play after February 23. So the Dukes are safe. For now.

But Cobourg has been coming on strong in recent weeks. The Cougars defeated the Lindsay Muskies 10-4 on Monday night. They are just two points behind the Dukes and have a game in hand. Pickering is floundering and will likely go quietly into the off-season. Stouffville, like the Dukes, are a young team with aspirations focused on a year or two out. But they won’t roll over easily. There is a deep winning tradition in Stouffville and that alone will make them tough and unpredictable competitors until the end.

The Lindsay Muskies sit two points ahead of the Dukes. They are an older team and their crowds are thinning despite a merger with the Peterborough Stars in the off-season. They may conclude this is their best shot. The Muskies picked up a defenceman, Kurt Gottshalk, this week from Hamilton. But a drubbing at the hands of Cobourg on Monday night surely has them worried about their depth and discipline.

The Kingston Voyageurs are a wild card. They have a better record than the Dukes but haven’t proven they can win consistently. They will be tested down the final stretch.

Abbott Girduckis contorts himself in order to redirect the puck toward the Muskies net on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Dukes multi-year record of 30 wins or more in the regular season seems at risk of falling.

But the thing about youth is—you never know what to expect. Despite the ups and downs this season, it remains a thrilling ride. It will likely stay that way to the finish.

LINDSAY 2 – DUKES 1
On Friday the Dukes came within five minutes of dominating the Lindsay Muskies on their own ice. In their first game back after the break the Dukes used the large ice to outskate, outwork and outplay their opponents.

Cam Nicoll has returned to the Dukes lineup after a lengthy head injury—feisty and energetic as ever.

Midway through the first period, rugged forward Mike Soucier battled and came out of the corner with the puck, eluding a couple of defenders, and served a pass to Erick Delaurentis who patiently found and seam and lifted a hard backhand shot into the Lindsay net. Before the period ended Captain Jan Kaminsky pounced on a loose puck at centre ice and very nearly beat the netminder between his feet.

The Muskies showed a bit more edge, a bit more energy in the second frame but the Dukes continued to dominate at both ends of the rink. In the third the Muskies grew more desperate. With just over five minutes left and the Dukes leading by a goal—they couldn’t clear the puck out of their own zone. The extra step that had helped them through two and a half periods was gone.

BANG. BANG.
The Muskies scored, then took the lead. Fifty-four minutes of hard work slipped away in four.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for a team in which every game means moving closer or farther away from a playoff spot.

DUKES 3 – STOUFFVILLE 2
The Dukes fell behind in Stouffville on Sunday afternoon. The Spirit scored early in the first—but seconds into the middle period, Brody Morris and Abbott Girduckis combined to score, tying the game at one goal apiece. Spencer Turcotte scored on the power play, assisted by Luc Brown. In the third Delaurentis scored from Soucier.
The Spirit added a later marker with the goaltender pulled in favour of an extra attacker. But the Dukes managed to staunch the attack and seal the win.

UP NEXT: PICKERING—AWAY AND HOME
On Friday the Dukes travel to Pickering. The Panthers have won just a single game in their past five. On Sunday they were humiliated by Trenton 12-1. It is always a worrying situation to face a team that has just been embarrassed.

Then on Sunday they will turn around to host the very same Panthers.

These games aren’t in the “must win” category. Not yet. But they are so close they may as well be.

Great showcase

High praise from the head of the Quebec Junior league

Richard Morency was unable to attend the Canada Cup Challenge in Wellington over the Christmas holidays in which two all-star teams from the Quebec Junior Hockey Leagues, over which he presides as president, competed against all-star teams from the Central Canada Hockey League and Ontario Junior Hockey League. After conferring with his league’s vicepresident Michel Emard, Morency was gracious in his praise for the tournament and the community.

“Our two teams (players and staff) enjoyed their stay in Wellington,”said Morency. “Organizers and volunteers were dedicated to the success of the event. The people were friendly and courteous. Such a level of competition can only be conducive to the development of our young hockey players. It was a very well organized event.”

It was just the second year in which the Quebec league participated in the holiday tournament. Last year the Quebec team won the tournament. This year they sent two teams. “It is an excellent showcase for the players due to the presence of numerous scouts from the NHL, QMJHL and academic institutions,” said Morency. “For this reason we decided more players should experience this.”

“On behalf of the LHJAAAQ, I congratulate the organizers of this event and thank them for all the support provided to participants.”