Adam Wood was tested often against St. Mikes but allowed just one goal—helping his team to a 2-1 victory.

Dukes prepare for the next stretch; add a veteran centreman

Dukes fans have plenty to thankful for. At the break the Dukes are in first place overall in the OJHL as measured by points and winning percentage. After dropping a game to the suddenly hot Lakeshore Patriots on Wednesday, the Dukes came home to defeat the South’s second best squad, the St. Michael’s Buzzers, in overtime. Only a handful of teams have played as many as the Dukes have in the first six weeks of the season only one has played more road games. Hamilton. Toronto. Newmarket. The Dukes had already logged a lot of miles on the bus.

The next big test comes this Friday as the Dukes get set to welcome Buffalo to Wellington for the first time. Buffalo leads the west division with 17 points and a winning percentage just a few basis points behind the Dukes.

Coach and general manager Marty Abrams appreciates what his team has achieved. But he, more than anyone, understands you don’t stand still in the OJHL.

“Overall I’m thrilled what we got out of the month of September,” said Abrams. “But we have lot of work ahead of us—we need to get better both offensively and defensively.”

The Dukes took a major step in that direction with the acquisition this week of 20-year-old centreman Andrew McCann.

“He adds some speed, some skill and he knows how to score goals,” said Abrams. “This is a player I have been chasing since last year. He is excited to be here and we are thrilled to have him. This has been a long, long time in the making.”

Erick Delaurentis scored the overtime winner on Friday against St. Mikes. He is now second among Dukes point getters with 19.

DUKES 2- ST. MIKES 1
After dropping a 4-3 loss in Toronto earlier in the week the Dukes were eager to prove it was a hiccup rather than a reversal of fortunes. Meanwhile, the always strong St. Michaels squad was flying around the ice. Through the first period the action flowed from one end of the Essroc arena to the other. Both netminders were called upon to be sharp.

Approaching the midpoint in the game— Spencer Turcotte parked his large frame on the edge of the goal crease. Using the screen, Mike Soucier fired a shot. The St. Mikes netminder peered around Turcotte to spot the puck. The wrong way. Soucier’s shot sailed into the net short side. Turcotte rightfully earned the assist.

As the game wore on the Dukes became stronger. St. Mikes flagged. Yet early in the third a couple of failed attempts to clear the puck from the Dukes zone resulted in a St. Mikes goal. Tied, the game went into overtime.

At the end of a very long shift, Erick Delaurentis carried the puck into the St. Mikes zone to enable a shift change. Out of gas, Delaurentis fired a low hard slap shot on net. To the surprise of everyone in the building, the puck beat the strong St. Mikes netminder and into the net. The Dukes won the game 2-1.

UP NEXT: BUFFALO AND MISSISSAUGA
The Dukes host the Buffalo Jr. Sabres for the first time this Friday night. On Saturday they travel to Mississauga to face the Chargers, who sit in sixth place in the South Division.

The Dukes coach is cautioning his squad not to let their foot off the gas. He worries a strong start to the season could contribute to a false sense of security.

“We need to tighten up our defensive play,” said Abrams. “We worked on that a lot before Friday’s game. Keeping shot against down and our zeroing in on our defensive zone coverage. This is going to be the focus of our practices this week. We hope our special teams keep rolling along.

“We are going to have to do a lot better job this Friday when Buffalo comes in here. They are one of the best, if not the best, teams in the league this season. They are also very well coached by Mike Peca.”

THE YANKS ARE COMING

Story: David Brown

The last time a U.S. based Junior A hockey team played in Wellington was nearly seven years ago. It was on November 24, 2006, a 3 – 0 win, when Dan Dunn shutout the Oswego Admirals and the home side cashed in for all three goals on the power play. Prior to Oswego, the Syracuse Junior Crunch were in the same league and the Dukes had an incredible record against the American clubs, having won their last 30 meetings, including 15 at the Old Duke Dome.

The Buffalo Junior Sabres were formerly known as the Niagara Scenic, having first played in Wellington in 1995. The franchise has had only three winning regular seasons in the past 12 years but they did set a team record last season with 81 points before bowing out to the North York Rangers in the South/West Conference semi-final playoffs in six games.

Hope to see you at the rink on Friday and remember, don’t sit down after the first national anthem…there’s another to follow.