Cruel fate

Sniper Abbott Girduckis snaps a shot wide of the mark on Friday night. He is one of seven Dukes players participating in the Central Canada Cup tournament this week in Etobicoke.

Two vastly different games, same disappointing result

It was the best of games. It was the worst of games. Yet the result was the same. Two disappointing losses on home ice, both in overtime. Both opposing teams celebrating in Wellington as the home team heads for the showers.

The Dukes played their best hockey of the season on Friday night. Fast. Intense. Hard nosed. Unrelenting. The Dukes outshot the Cobourg Cougars—arguably the best team in the OJHL this season—by a wide margin, 43-30. They had more opportunity and more high quality chances. In every measure of the game, the Dukes were the better team.

But in a split-second lapse in the first period, the Dukes lost the thread. They began chasing rather than defending. Then the puck was in their net.

The Dukes turned up the intensity. The boys were flying. Killing a penalty, Joe McKeown led a brilliant effort that scarcely allowed the Cobourg power play to touch the puck in the two minutes. But it would be late in the second period before the Dukes were able to even the score.

Luc Brown’s line, with Josh Supryka and Marco Azzano, had been wearing down their opponents on successive shifts all game long. It seemed a goal was near. At last the Cobourg defence crumpled. Azzano potted the game-tying goal.

The Dukes had the momentum and the extra speed. They pelted Cobourg’s netminder Stefano Durante, with 17 shots in the final period—looking for the go-ahead goal. The Dukes came close, several times.

In overtime, Cobourg rallied. The Dukes wilted, unable to muster a shot on net. Cobourg scored three minutes into overtime. They celebrated as though they had won the lottery. In a way, they had. They weren’t competitors for much of this game. Yet they held off the faster, more skilled and determined Dukes team long enough. Long enough to win.

Wellington fans cheered their team for a tremendous effort and thrilling game.

It was a different story on Sunday. Newmarket was in town. The Hurricanes are a .500 team in a weak division. Their leading offensive weapon is former Dukes player Cam Nicoll. After the exhibition of skill and determination the Dukes displayed on Friday night, Newmarket could not have been looking forward to coming into Wellington’s rink Sunday.

But that’s the funny thing about sports. What happened yesterday is not a perfect indicator of what will happen today. That is why they play the game.

Griffin McCarty fends off a close checking Cobourg defender on Friday night’s overtime loss to the Cougars.

The Dukes came out on Sunday with much of the same speed and intensity. The Dukes had eight shots on net before the Hurricanes penetrated their end. But another momentary lapse in the Dukes end, as the puck was lost between the forward’s feet, and it was in the net. It was the Hurricane’s first shot on net.

The Dukes pushed harder. But nothing. As the game wore on, fans could feel the ice tilting in favour of Newmarket. The Hurricanes slowly believed they could win this game. The Dukes were questioning whether they would ever beat the Newmarket netminder.

Then, late in the second period, Abbott Girduckis swept a smart puck onto McKeown’s stick. A swat later, the game was tied. A moment later with the Dukes swarming, Azzano readied himself along the boards inside the Newmarket zone—his stick raised high—anticipating the pass. When it came Azzano let loose a blistering shot into the far corner, through traffic. The Dukes had the lead and the momentum as the buzzer sounded ending the second period.

Intermission didn’t help the Dukes. Newmarket came back rejuvenated in the third. The Dukes didn’t. The Hurricanes compiled nearly as many shots on net in the final period as they had in the previous two. Midway through the frame, Newmarket scored to tie the game. The Dukes didn’t have a response. In overtime, the Hurricane tallied just two minutes in, mercifully putting a quick end to a disappointing weekend for Dukes fans.

The road ahead gets tougher for the Dukes. They welcome the West Division’s leader, the Georgetown Raiders, to Wellington on Friday night. Then, on Saturday night, they travel to Oakville—winners in their past three games.

The Dukes will be without a third of their squad for both these games. Girduckis, McKeown, Andrew Coupland, Brandon Kosik, Panetta, Justin Bean and Welsh are all participating in the Central Canada Cup this weekend in Etobicoke. Seven players will be lost to the Dukes this weekend. By comparison, Georgetown will be missing three players, and Oakville will be down four.

In previous year’s the tournament had been scheduled over the Christmas break and didn’t interfere in the regular season. Not so this season. For some players, the tournament will be an audition for the World Junior Hockey Challenge in December.

But for a Dukes team looking to get back on track, it means a tough weekend will be that much tougher.