Thin wins
Recklessness portends an early exit in the playoffs The radio ad for the Verdun Dragons of the Ligue nord-américane de hockey came to symbolize the league. “The puck drops at 8 p.m. The gloves drop at 8:05,” proclaimed the excited radio voice. More than 60 teams flowed in and out of the mostly goon pro […]
Winning ways
But team discipline continues to elude the East Division leaders With the Dukes’ win over Newmarket on Saturday, the team assured itself entry to the playoffs in March. Perhaps this is not utterly surprising as the Dukes are in first place in their division—where they’ve been all season long. The truly astonishing bit is that […]
Upside down
East Division leaders clear house over the holidays That was some kind of Christmas break. The number one team in the East Division returned to find their entire coaching staff had been jettisoned. Ryan Woodward, just months into an odd role as general manager and associate coach, was gone. So was Kyle Hawkins- Schulz as […]
Back
Together again, the Dukes aim to start the new year with all guns blazing The Wellington Dukes get back into action with two games at home this weekend—Trenton on Friday night and Lindsay on Sunday afternoon. With just 17 games left in the regular season, the Dukes have a solid grip on the number one […]
Tireless badgers
Short-handed Dukes send a message to the league’s best It is hard to discern this from the scoreboard, but this may have been the Wellington Dukes’ most important couple of weeks in its march toward an OJHL championship in the spring. There are many conditions that must be applied to this statement, but in these […]
Digging deep
Skeleton crew beat Markham, and send a message to Oakville It was a brilliant game. Hard-fought, smash-mouth hockey that left the visiting Oakville Blades wondering what they had done to deserve this punishment. Not mean. Nor vicious. Just clean, bruising forechecking, relentless back checking— attacking until the whistle blew. Then just a bit more. The […]
Powering through
Short-handed Dukes tally sixth straight win The Dukes just keep rolling along—tallying their sixth win in as many games. It’s an achievement made more remarkable as they did so on Sunday without the services of their captain Colin Doyle, power forward Ben Evans and swiftfooted defenceman Mason Snell. All were in Toronto competing for roster […]
Turning it up
Dukes demonstrate character and depth in two dominating wins on the road There was sweet redemption served for the Dukes on Friday in Trenton as they skated through, around and over the Golden Hawks, from nearly the opening whistle to the final buzzer. Better yet, the Dukes overwhelmed Marty Abrams’ team in their own rink, […]
Where to next?
First half of the regular season is in the books and the Dukes are on top So far so good. At the halfway mark in the season, the Wellington Dukes are secure in first place in the East Division and tied with the most points in the OJHL with the Oakville Blades (though both Georgetown […]
Ragged individuals
Dukes abandon discipline, give away three points Most are still teenagers. Young. Excitable. Driven. It is why the concept of discipline is so much more than a slogan in junior hockey. Discipline must be an essential part of the culture— from the moment they arrive in Wellington, through every interaction in the community to their […]