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 […]
Unremarkable
The Dukes march toward the playoffs The Wellington Dukes are in the midst of a two-week Christmas break, returning to action this Friday in Pickering. Home on Sunday. The team gets back to the playoff hunt in the new year, with just 16 games remaining in the regular season, and lodged firmly in the fourth […]
Doldrums
Dukes struggle to maintain intensity The Wellington Dukes seem content to linger with the middle of the pack. The team has had a good run recently with four wins in five games. In doing so they have moved back into contention in the East Division. There have been exceptional performances, exceptional exhibitions of talent and […]
Home at last
Dukes return to Wellington on the back of a three-game winning streak The Wellington Dukes remain a puzzle. The team has, with Saturday’s victory in Whitby, now won three games in a row. Against the three top teams in the East Division. The wins came not from a wild, run and gun offensive outburst, but […]
Mixed messages
Penalties and suspensions mar important divisional wins Sixty-four minutes of penalties assessed. In one game. That’s what the Wellington Dukes accumulated on Friday night. Oh… and they won the game. In overtime. Downing the Trenton Golden Hawks 4-3 in overtime. An ugly match. Earning the Dukes one-game suspensions for three players. Against a lone suspension […]
Doldrums
Dukes losing games to teams who want to win more than they do The Wellington Dukes are nearing the midway point in their season with one more loss than wins. That this team is playing at under .500 shouldn’t be that surprising given their age and size relative to other OJHL competitors. Rather it is […]
Solid weekend
Dukes rebound with tenacity In the early part of the season, it wasn’t clear what to make of Frank Vitucci. The 19-year-old winger from Philadelphia was fast and skilled, but easily riled. He had generated five points in his first five games in September. But then he went quiet. Nothing in his next eight games. […]
Unstructured
Giveaways and flimsy play in their own zone cost the Dukes another two losses Too many unforced errors. Too many exit passes that never leave the Wellington end. Too many giveaways. Not enough goaltending. Even counting their lone win in three games, this was the story of the Dukes’ weekend. Fourteen goals scored against—in three […]
Tough going
Mass tempers velocity as Whitby schools the Dukes When your team is defined by speed and tenacity, it is essential that you bring those attributes to every shift of every game. Otherwise the result is painful— physically and on the scoreboard. The Wellington Dukes experienced this in jarring sensurround on Friday night. The Whitby Fury […]
Bounce back
Dukes regain composure after dreary outing at home It was a game that seemed as though it might slip into the gorge, erupting in flames. After a lacklustre loss at home against Cobourg on Friday night, the Dukes and their netminder Olivier Lafreniere bounced back with solid 3-0 victory over the Tigers in Aurora on […]