A fresh start

Dukes’ season ends, but the team and fan base are stronger than ever

It was over too soon. Yet few Wellington Dukes fans felt this scrappy team had let them down—most stayed on their feet long after Toronto scored in overtime. After the other team had celebrated and left the ice. Wellington fans stayed to say thank you to the team owner, coaches and players who salvaged a team that had been left for dead last summer. The end came too soon. But the Dukes are winners. And despite adversity, it is clear this team will always be winners.

The loss to the Junior Canadiens ought not to have been a surprise. The playoff lottery awarded the Dukes the right to play a very good but underperforming squad. It is only a couple of seasons past that the Canadiens won the league championship—last year they were defeated in the semi-finals. The team has developed a culture of success and attracting talent.

Yet, the Dukes had a better regular season record. They were bigger. Tougher. With some speed and some skill. Toronto were spiralling at the end of the season, losing four of their last five games.

GAME 2
And when the Dukes took game one, winning 5-2, it seemed Toronto might fade away into the spring. Instead, the Canadiens hunkered down—supported by a new netminder, Sergei Litvinov. In game two the Dukes smothered the Canadiens. They controlled the puck in the Toronto end. Worked the cycle. Moving the puck around the edges. Looking for a shooting or passing lane. But the Canadiens responded by collapsing into the slot, taking away prime shooting angles, and blocking everything the Dukes threw at them.

Then, the puck would bounce off a shin pad, spinning into the neutral zone. Or the Canadiens would pick off a pass down low and hit a forward steaking toward the Dukes’ net. Jack Lisson was great— but he faced too many odd-man rushes.

Bit by bit the Canadiens’ games built a lead. And hunkered around their netminder. And stole the win.

GAME 3
Toronto used the template in Wellington last Tuesday. And while it seemed the Dukes—given a bit more time in the game—might have come back, they lost the home game 3-2.

GAME 4
Then, a tough one in Toronto. The Scotiabank Pond is a slick hockey venue. Four rinks. A pub. Bar. However, the Junior Canadiens don’t attract many fans from the surrounding Downsview neighbourhood.

One estimate put 135 fans at the game on Thursday—well, more than half had travelled from Wellington. Dukes 35 jerseys abounded.

But the Dukes faced the same dilemma. Soon, they were down 2-0 early in the third. Frustration was replacing excitement. But then Connor Hunt tipped a Corey Jewitt pass. Before the period was done, Jewitt diverted a William Mitchell pass. The game was tied.

It stayed that way until the 14-minute mark of the third. The Dukes on the powe rplay. A defenceman-to-defenceman pass across the top of the blue line went astray. Toronto’s Nick Athanasakos picked up the puck, streaked down the ice, and beat Lisson, top shelf. It was a brutal way for Toronto to take the lead. But just seconds later, Nick Dipaolo connected with William Mitchell, and the game was tied once again. The Dukes continued to dominate territorial play. But with seconds running out in the third, the Canadiens gained the Dukes’ zone. Wellington defenders flooded the right side. But the puck came loose and squirted to the left wing. The Canadiens’ floating forward hammered the puck into the open net. Just three seconds remained on the clock.

GAME 5
Ryan Schapp scored on the power play to give the Dukes the lead. The Dukes were ready to fight to the end. They turned up the heat. Defensively. With structure and discipline. No scoring in the second. But great chances.

Then penalties. All three infractions called by the referee in the third period were assessed against the Dukes. A roughing. An interference. The Dukes were constantly playing a man short. Then, a head-checking call. The Dukes were already down a player in the penalty box.

To be clear, referees need to protect players and their safety. But this was a rough game, and both sides were giving and taking. That the Dukes were assessed overlapping penalties in such a crucial game seemed unwarranted. That they were the only team penalized seemed wrong.

With the two-man advantage, the Toronto Junior Canadiens scored to tie the game. Again, the Dukes turned up the heat. Again, the Canadiens became a shell in the slot in front of their netminder.

In overtime, the same. But then, two and half minutes into the extra frame, the Canadiens gained the Dukes’ zone. Shot. Shane Shelest made the save. He had been brilliant all game long. Calm. Square. Solid. But the shot rebounded. Another spectacular save. But the Dukes could not find the puck. Shelest was now prone on the ice, scrambling for the loose puck. Pushed to the Toronto winger. Shot. Goal. Game. Season.

FAREWELL
At least six Dukes players won’t be back next season, Captain Dimitri-Alexander Tzaferis, defencemen Justin Pare, Connor Loerzel, and Josh Rumolo, along with forward Pana Ephraimidis and keeper Shane Shelest, have all reached the end of their junior careers. Wellington wishes them well. Each contributed to a wonderful comeback season in Wellington’s 35th year.

UP NEXT
The Wellington Dukes will host a prospects camp from May 3 to 5. Fans needing a hockey fix are encouraged to come out and assess the Dukes of the future.

Wellington fans sat in stunned silence after Toronto’s overtime goal that ended the Dukes’ season. Ethan Quick (centre) and Dimitri Tzaferis (right) endure Junior Canadiens taunts after a third-period goal—scored with the Dukes down two men in the penalty box—to tie the game.