Dukes and Tigers
A rivalry renewed The Wellington Dukes emerged with wins in all four meetings against Aurora in the regular season. But the playoffs are a brand new season. All points are erased. The ice is levelled, and the campaign begins anew. Well, except for one important advantage: the Dukes begin the playoffs on home ice. If […]
Home ice
Jockeying for position in anticipation of the playoffs This much is set. The Wellington Dukes will face either the Aurora Tigers or the Markham Royals in the first round of the playoffs beginning next week. Nothing the Dukes do in their last game on Friday against Whitby will change that. However, it remains a critical […]
Playoff bound
Dukes headed to the post-season The Wellington Dukes have played some intense high-speed hockey this season. But not lately. The Dukes have been leaning heavily on their netminder in recent weeks. Whether hobbled with injuries—and they are piling up—or just feeling the strain of a long season—the Dukes have been playing the game at a […]
The cure
Dominant win on Sunday enables Dukes to shake losing streak Lindsay was just the antidote the Wellington Dukes were looking for after three straight losses. Not that the Muskies are a bad team—they aren’t. They are a young team—they will be contenders again. But on Sunday afternoon, the Dukes simply outworked Lindsay. Every play. Every battle. […]
Bruised
Lafreniere shines as Dukes muddle through short-handed games It gets harder from here. The Wellington Dukes, with nine games remaining in the regular season schedule, enjoy all but two of these matches at home. But each one—barring Sunday’s afternoon game with Lindsay—is against a bona fide contender. Markham twice more. Trenton. Aurora. Even Stouffville, Newmarket and […]
Where there’s a will
Dukes win big game, fade in lesser match David Brown has a good head for numbers. It’s a talent more associated with baseball, but numbers offer a telling insight into most sporting stories, including hockey. On a scrap of paper, the Dukes’ stats guy has encapsulated the Wellington Dukes’ season in two rows of numbers. The […]
Resurrection
Dukes finding offensive balance as opponents target Brown and Sokay Dylan Mascarin figured his junior hockey days were finished. He had bounced around four different leagues—including eight games with the Wellington Dukes last season. But nowhere did his performance match the output of his minor midget season back home in Thunder Bay. That season, he notched […]
Shake up
Dukes make changes in preparation for the playoffs The Wellington Dukes battled to a hard-fought draw on Friday and clobbered Milton on the road on Saturday to edge within six points of second place in the OJHL East. It was also a weekend in which GM and head coach Marty Abrams shook up the Dukes line-up […]
Thriller in Trenton
‘Best game of the season’ According to one fan who trekked to Trenton on Wednesday night—it was the best game he’d seen all season, perhaps a few seasons from the Wellington Dukes. “Our guys dominated Trenton both in speed and physical play,” said Bill Wightman. “The smart kind of toughness,” he added. By the end of […]
Junior A wrap up
Familiar combatants faced off in the final of the World Junior A Challenge on Saturday in Cobourg, as Team Canada West beat Russia 2-1 to claim the championship for the fourth time since the tournament was formed. Team Canada East lost the bronze medal game to the US by a 7-1 score. The Dukes’ […]