Erick Delaurentis was second leading goal scorer and points getter with the Dukes in the regular season—rising from 12th last season. But Delaurentis was also the most penalized Dukes forward in the regular season, a stat he will look to improve upon in the playoffs.

The Dukes look to upset a confident Kingston team

The playoffs are here. After a roller coaster regular season the Dukes prepare to face one of the strongest teams in the OJHL. The Kingston Voyageurs have lost just a single game since the new year. That is until they were pummelled by Trenton in their last game of the regular season 9-2 last Saturday night.

So where does that leave the young Dukes? They demonstrated on Friday night against Whitby that when they use their team speed, and work harder than their opponents, they can beat anyone. They won that game 3-0. Hayden Lavigne earned the shootout.

“This group has really bought into a team first concept this season,” explained Marty Abrams, head coach and general manager. “I think they understand that with hard work they can be successful regardless of the opponent.”

Team speed has been their strength all season— and when it lapsed the team lost. This was particularly evident in the second period on Friday night. The game didn’t mean anything to the Dukes in terms of the standings. Whitby, meanwhile, was still looking to stay ahead of Newmarket to retain home ice advantage.

Yet it was the Dukes—particularly the young ones—who rose to the challenge on Friday. This was best exemplified by one shift midway through the game. Cam Nicoll, Luc Brown and Mike Soucier used their legs impressively to outwork the Fury. Exhausted after a minute of being trapped in his own zone, a frantic Whitby defender lifted a waist-high pass from deep in his own—looking to ice the puck and catch his breath.

Dukes forward and the team’s leading scorer in the regular season Craig Campbell was a target for much of Whitby’s frustration on Friday.

But Soucier was at the blueline and snapped the puck out of mid air—keeping the puck in the Whitby end. Together with his linemates he moved the puck efficiently deep in the zone. Only when their netminder was called upon to make an acrobatic save did the whistle blow. The Fury skaters wobbled to the bench knowing the Dukes would throw three more lines over the boards just as fast and just as aggressive.

REDIRECTING THE VOYAGEURS
Wellington won just two games of six against Kingston during the regular season. Their toughest loss, 5-1, was their most recent. Two of Kingston’s goals in that game were scored on the power play.

Abrams says his team can beat Kingston—but only if they stay out of the penalty box.

“We have to play as much five-on-five hockey as possible. That, and some solid goaltending and a few breaks, will be what it takes to win this series.”

Once again this year the Dukes have come to rely on steady and reliable performance in net. Veteran Matt Larose is expected to take on the bulk of the workload for the Dukes. He finished the season second overall in the OJHL in terms of save percentage. The only netminder ahead of him? Kingston’s Charlie Finn.

The edge must still go to Larose in this series, however—if only because he has backstopped a younger more inexperienced team through a developmental year.

“Both goalies are great,” added Abrams. “They are the best two in the league. I don’t think either team would swap one for the other.

Perhaps the toughest job for Abrams will be keeping a lid on the emotions in the Dukes dressing room. He and the veterans on the team will be called upon to ensure that the mood doesn’t swing wildly from victory to loss.

“With this team, emotion and confidence is really connected with success,” said Abrams. “Often a team that lacks experience isn’t able to control and channel their emotions which leads to negative behavior. That in turn leads to losing confidence. We have struggled with that all season, which has led to the extreme highs and lows of this season.”

Many Dukes fans, and likely a number of Voyageur fans as well, will remember when Kingston upset Wellington last February— eliminating the Dukes in the first round. It was the first time in many years the Dukes’ season was over in February. It was a bitter feeling.

This year it is Kingston that is favoured to win. But when the puck drops on Thursday— none of this will matter. The team that skates fastest and works harder will win. No one knows this better than the Wellington Dukes.

DUKES FACTS

BY: DAVID BROWN

The Wellington Dukes “Goalt ending Factory” continues as both of this year’s goalies made it to the Top 10 in a number of categories (number in bracket is their OJHL ranking):

Larose: .933 Save percentage (2nd); 1,255 Saves (6th); 20 Wins (8th); 2.53 GAA (9th); 2,134 Minutes Played (10th); 2 Shutouts (10th).

Lavigne: 4 Shutouts (5th); 2.48 GAA (6th); .922 Save percentage (6th).

On the offensive side of things, Campbell, despite missing 10 games, had 31 goals (10th in OJHL). Campbell and Delaurentis both had five game-winning goals (9th OJHL).

Kyle Paat was the lone Duke to play in all 55 regular season games.

This will be the first time the Dukes have started the playoffs on the road since 1999.

The Dukes won their last five road games of the regular season just completed.