Dark October

Dukes’ struggles on full display

The Dukes will be glad to see the back of October. The month has been brutal for the team as it won just a single game—of 12 games played. Wellington lost five games in overtime last month. It’s time to put the ghosts, goblins and memories of October behind us.

PICKERING 6 – WELLINGTON 5 2OT
Monday night is a strange night for hockey. Particularly in Wellington. Outside of playoffs, I can’t remember the last time a visiting team arrived for a game on Monday. It showed in the sparse attendance. (Game 3 of the Blue Jays’ World Series may have also had an effect.)

The indifference extended to the ice—at least for the first half of the game. Not much intensity. More going-through-the-motions hockey. (Plenty of penalties, however.)

The Pickering Panthers jumped out to a 2- 0 lead against 15-year-old call-up, Nolan Hardy. Both Panther goals came from Vasily Serov—a big, rangy and highly skilled Russian forward.

But before the period was done, Captain Sacha Trudel fed Zach Mascard with a crossslot pass. The Dukes were back within a goal. The Panthers got one back on their own power play early in the second. (Did I mention the penalties?)

Dukes’ forward Evan Erwin scored a few moments later—on the power play—his third of the season. Then Zach Carrier finished a brilliant Mascard set up, giving the hometown some hope. The Dukes had dug themselves out of the hole, and the game was tied going into the third.

Early in the next frame, Trudel intercepted a pass in his own zone and buried a short-handed goal. A lead for the first time in the game. But Pickering responded with a pair of goals to retake a one-goal lead. With under two minutes remaining, Christian Armstrong scored—on the power play— sending the game to overtime.

The Dukes had chances, but it was the Panthers who tallied early in the second overtime to take home the two points.

In total, 21 penalties were issued in this game— 54 minutes of penalties called. Wellington scored four power play goals, Pickering a pair with the man-advantage. Both special teams had lots of practice on Monday.

KING CITY 5 – WELLINGTON 2
Just 83 fans showed up at the King City rink on Friday. The smattering of fans watched their team, the Rebellion, score a short-handed goal in the first period, on the way to a three-goal outburst in the second.

Evan Erwin finally got the Dukes on the board in the third. But later in the frame, the Rebellion scored to restore the four-goal lead. Forward Landon Marleau scored his first as a Duke in the dying minutes of a lost cause.

BUFFALO 5 – DUKES 4 OT
The night before, the Dukes had crossed the border to visit the Buffalo Junior Sabres. Buffalo peppered Dukes netminder Royden Smith with 52 shots in this game—but the Dukes’ goalie kept his team close. Close enough to force overtime.

After Ethan Murray got the Dukes on the board in the first, the Junior Sabres exploded with three unanswered goals. But the Dukes’ fortunes turned in the third. Liam Campbell scored his second as a Dukes player. Then Zach Mascard beat the Junior Sabres’ netminder to tie the game. Buffalo added a late goal to retake the lead, but Will Mitchell scored his first in this tour with Wellington to knot the game 3-3.

But just 28 seconds into overtime, Buffalo beat Smith on the 52nd shot he faced on Thursday.

UP NEXT: LINDSAY
The Muskies are currently locked with the Dukes in the middle of the East Conference with a record of seven wins, six losses and a pair of games ending in a tie. Lindsay is among the more penalized teams in the league and, as such, has given up 14 power play goals. With the man-advantage, the Muskies are dead last in scoring among all OJHL teams—capitalizing on the extra attacker just 7.6 per cent of their opportunities.

The Dukes will be looking for a better outcome in November.