Dukes forward Cam Yuill squares off for the face-off against Whitby’s leading scorer Matt Davis on Friday night. The Dukes lost that game 3-1.

Dukes prepare for playoffs

With Cobourg’s disputed shoot out win over the Kingston Voyageurs on Monday night, the playoff picture for the Dukes became a little clearer.

Cobourg, with the win, locks up either first or second place in the East Division. Cobourg and Trenton will continue to scrap for the regular season title likely until the last game on Sunday. Meanwhile the Dukes must settle for third place—which means playing in the preliminary playoff round against either Lindsay or Kingston.

Although far from a certainty, the Dukes will likely face Lindsay beginning on Tuesday at home. The Dukes dominated Lindsay in the regular season, winning five of six matchups between the clubs. The best-offive series must be wrapped up by the following Monday February 20.

DOMINATING THE SOUTH
The Wellington Dukes shook off a tough loss at home on Friday by travelling to Downsview to beat the North York Rangers 4-1 on Sunday afternoon.

Jared Lockhurst was in net for the Dukes as Wellington opened a four-goal lead with markers from Cam Yuill, Guillaume Naud, Erick Delaurentis and David Pratt. North York’s lone goal came late in the third period with Jan Kaminsky and Anthony Taylor in the penalty box for roughing.

Tyler Marble cleans up the mess as defencemen David Pratt and Kyllian Kirkwood clear the zone in front of the Dukes net.

Simon Bessette was back in the line after missing games against Kingston and Whitby last week. The Dukes’ captain slid hard into the boards in Cobourg on Monday lying still for a long time before being assisted off the ice.

The Dukes win over North York improved their record against South Division teams to a perfect 12 and 0. They have one game remaining against a South team, Sunday against Toronto Lakeshore.

Last season the Dukes against the South were 15 wins and one shootout loss with the one blemish coming from the North York Rangers. In the playoffs the Dukes were eight and one against South Division teams with the one loss coming against Villanova (the first star of that game was Knights netminder Jared Lockhurst).

Over the past two years the Dukes have played South Division teams 37 games and have a record of 35 wins, one loss and one shootout loss. That’s a winning percentage of .959.

FURY UNTAMED
On Friday night the Dukes faced a Whitby that looks ready for the playoffs. The Fury were faster, more intense and hungrier than the Dukes and the result was a 3- 1 Whitby victory—in the Dukes barn.

Things started badly for the Dukes, who were missing Jan Kaminsky (suspension) and Bessette (injury), as the Whitby forecheckers pounded the Dukes in their own end—forcing a turnover deep in the Dukes’ zone. The Fury’s Nick Neal scooped up the loose puck skated through the crease and tucked it past Tyler Marble—playing in just his second game since returning from a lower body injury suffered in a loss against Trenton early in January.

Kevin Swales pulled the Dukes even later in the first as Ryan Donahoe teed up the defenceman. Swales’s rocket found the Whitby net. It was Swales’s first as a Duke.

But before the period was done Whitby regained the lead as the Dukes, when given the opportunity, failed to clear the zone.

In the second the Dukes turned up the intensity but the Fury clogged up the middle of the ice, thwarting rush after rush. Even with the help of a series of power plays including a long two-man advantage, the Dukes couldn’t capitalize.

The Dukes pushed harder. Midway through the frame Wellington was swarming the net—but failed to beat the Whitby netminder. Then the Fury forward Kevin Stevens stepped across the blueline and fired a slap shot that beat Marble top corner. It was a heartbreaking goal.

With a two goal cushion Whitby tightened up the neutral zone trap and skated home with the win—the Dukes second Friday night home loss in row.

With some key assets sidelined on Friday night it presented an opportunity for some players who dress sparingly to step to the fore. That it didn’t happen is a worrying sign for the Dukes.

UP NEXT: COBOURG AND TORONTO LAKESHORE
With a win tonight the Cobourg Cougars will be tied with Trenton for first place in the East with a game in hand over the Golden Hawks. With first place on the line, the Cougars will have a greater incentive on Friday night as they visit the Essroc Centre to take on the Dukes. Meanwhile Wellington has already clinched third place and can’t move up in the rankings.

It likely means a chance to rest a few of the Dukes’ workhorses and mend a few bumps and bruises in preparation for the preliminary round of the playoffs, which could get under way as soon as Monday night.

The Dukes welcome the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots on Sunday. Toronto is still in the hunt for the second place bye in the South Division. Their fate—bye or playoff against either Pickering or Mississauga—may be determined by the outcome of the game on Sunday night in Wellington.

Where are they now?

The Wellington Dukes trace their hockey roots to the former Belleville Bobcats franchise, purchased in 1989 by 10-year operators of a successful Wellington Junior ‘C’ representative who moved the acquired squad to the tiny Village. This is the nineteenth in a series of tracking down former Duke Players.

NAME: CHRIS AUGER
Chris appeared at the Dukes training camp in 2003 after a successful season playing minor midget with the Quinte Red Devils ‘AAA’ hockey system. The Belleville, Ontario native played mostly on the checking line but managed to score 15 goals helping the team to finish in first place in the regular season and added 5 more in the playoffs as the Dukes reached the East Division finals for the third consecutive year. He played in the 2004 Future All-Star Game and also won the Matt Cooke Award for Dukes Rookie of the Year.

His second season with the Dukes saw him almost double his point production and helped lead the team again to their fourth consecutive East Division finals. A third year with the Dukes would see him have a breakout season as he scored 41 goals and finished third in the OJHL points race. Later that year Chris was selected in the NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. With two years of junior eligibility left he accepted an NCAA Division One scholarship with UMass-Lowell.

After playing four years of university hockey he turned professional with the Mississippi RiverKings of the Central Hockey League. This season he moved to the Fort Wayne Comets of the same league and has already exceeded his points total from last year, having picked up 31 in 33 games helping the team to a first place position so far. His pro highlight so far is a game back on December 10, 2011 against the Evansville IceMen. The Comets won 5 to 0 with Chris scoring four goals and assisting on the other. One of his goals was a short-handed penalty shot. It had been seven years since the last time a Comet player had scored four goals in a single game.

DID YOU KNOW?
Chris holds the Dukes franchise record for points in the regular season with 92 in 2005-2006.