Round 2
Dukes face Whitby in division final It’s Wellington versus Whitby in Round 2 of the OJHL playoffs. On Friday night, the Dukes downed the East Division regular season champions, Cobourg Cougars, in five games earning their place in the Division Final. The Fury defeated the Trenton Golden Hawks on Sunday to advance to face Wellington. […]
Smash mouth hockey
Dukes go toe-to-toe with the Cougars This was always destined to be a bruising series. The Cobourg Cougars fought their way to the top of the East Division, playing a heavy game. Structured and disciplined, yet physical, sprinkled with some offensive talent. And the Wellington Dukes understood that to compete in this series they would […]
Ready
Playoffs begin this week The Wellington Dukes and Cobourg Cougars will be familiar with each other when they face off in the first round of the playoffs, beginning this week (dates were not set at press time). These teams met on Monday night for the second time in eight days. With little at stake in […]
Playoff ready
Dukes send a message to potential first round playoff opponents While the Wellington Dukes fell short of defeating the putative East Division champions on Sunday, they did, however, deliver a clear and unequivocal message to the Cobourg Cougars: Be ready for a battle in the first round of the playoffs. The Dukes have just a […]
Clinched
Dukes bound for the playoffs On Saturday afternoon, the Wellington Dukes clinched a playoff spot for the 30th consecutive season before a national audience on CHCH television. It is the kind of statistical benchmark David Brown loved to track, promote and share. Sadly, Brown passed away late last year missing this important milestone. He would […]
Showcase
Dukes and Kingston to be featured in national broadcast on Saturday afternoon Largely overlooked by folks outside of their hometown, Tier 2 Junior hockey, outside of the championship game, doesn’t often get an opportunity to present itself to a national audience. That changed this season when the OJHL teamed up with broadcaster CHCH in order […]
Thriller
Dukes defeat Oakville in an exciting display of speed and tenacity Some described it simply as the most exciting game they’ve ever witnessed. That’s something. For the Dukes have presented plenty of excitement in Wellington over the decades. But this was exceptional. The Oakville Blades were in town. The best team in the OJHL, third […]
Character win
Dukes beat Trenton, get ready to welcome the OJHL’s leading team to Wellington A large contingent had travelled from Quinte West and environs into the County to watch their Golden Hawks take on the Wellington Dukes. It made for a boisterous event—cheers and gasps with every near miss. Every solid check and every extinguished power […]
Going strong
Nine of ten points since New Year The Dukes deserved a better fate on Sunday. Although they never had the lead in the game, they were much faster. They controlled the play, won the foot races and fired more shots on net. So when Elijah Gonsalves scored from an inspired feed from Tyson Gilmour to […]
The final stretch
Dukes begin the new year with a pair of wins I begin 2019 with a correction. In last week’s column I laid out playoff scenarios for the Wellington Dukes and other teams in the East and North Division. This was all wrong. While these two divisions had formed a conference for many years, the OJHL […]