Digging deep

Dukes netminder Tyson Teichmann turns away one of 41 shots by the Milton Icehawks on Friday night. He is still looking forward to his first win in a Dukes uniform.

Slump tests Dukes

The Wellington Dukes have lost their last five games. Each loss has been by a single goal. Three have been lost in a shootout where Dukes snipers have managed to beat the opposing netminder just once in nine tries. Four of the Dukes losses have been given up in front of disappointed hometown fans. What has happened to the team that raced up the national rankings in September and into October?

They have, over the past two weeks, played themselves out of first place and slid, in a tough division, all the way down to a tie for last place. This, however may be the least important statistic. The truth is that in the third week of November, all five teams in the East are locked in a virtual dead heat. All five have legitimate aspirations for first place in this division and top three in the league. But unless the Dukes can manage to turn around this gruesome losing skid, they could find themselves watching the other East teams skate away from them.

So what happened? Here are five possible explanations.

1. The things that worked in September no longer do. The most notable difference is along the wall and in the corners. The Dukes were badgers in the September— grinding through opponents, pushing them off the puck and emerging with a scoring opportunity. In the last five games, more often than not, it is the Dukes who are being beaten off the puck and scrambling to recover. It isn’t that they aren’t trying, but the extra ounce of intensity present during September streak has slipped away. They will need to find it again soon.

2. Penalties. The Dukes averaged 17 minutes in penalties in three games last week. In September and early October, the Dukes were accumulating fewer than 10 penalty minutes per game. The Dukes can’t win when playing nearly a period short-handed each night.

3. The chemistry has been disturbed. The arrival of two new forwards—Andrew McCann and Chad Thibodeau has added dimension and speed to the Dukes offence, but it has also meant more line shifting and reduced ice time for some. This is part of the game and provides none with an excuse. They will need to work through it. That the team has failed to gel in recent weeks is a problem compounded by infrequent games. Missed passes. Drop passes to no one in particular. Mixed signals. Miscommunication. Blind passes. The game played at this speed requires each player to always understand what his linemate is thinking. That clearly hasn’t happened over the past two weeks.

Mike Soucier returned from a the World Junior A Challenge in Yarmouth last week and earned a pair of assists in his three games back.

4. It’s November. A wise hockey man once explained to this correspondent that November was the toughest month for junior hockey players. The pulsing energy of a new season has cooled, yet it is still weeks away from the holiday break and the chance to reunite with family and friends. Again, not an excuse. The Dukes will need to battle through this slump and find the intensity that drove them in September.

5. Turnovers. When things go wrong in a hockey game, turnovers are the most obvious indicator. And typically the most lethal. The Dukes are strong playmakers and make smart decisions with the puck. Heroic, careless or low percentage moves are weaned out of Dukes players soon after arriving in Wellington, or they don’t stick. Instead Dukes players are taught to protect the puck and make good decisions, at speed. But as the Dukes troubles have mounted in recent game, the grip on the sticks has become tighter, minds become muddy and decision making has suffered.

The good news is these things are fixable. The Dukes will fix them. A return to winning form will put the Dukes right back into the thick of the competition in the East. This slump will soon be forgotten. Perhaps it may even serve as a useful reminder of just how thin the line is between winning and losing.

THE GERMANS ARE COMING
By way of an early Christmas present the Dukes will welcome a Junior team from Germany in an exhibition game in Wellington on December 3. The game is a fundraiser for the upcoming 2014 Dudley Hewitt Cup. Tickets are $10. Seating is general admission. The puck drops at 7:30 pm.

UP NEXT: GEORGETOWN, LINDSAY, OAKVILLE AND WHITBY
No better time to get off the schneid than with a busy week in which the Dukes play four games—three on the road. Resembling September’s schedule, the Dukes will look to begin the turnaround tonight.

Georgetown is a perennial powerhouse in the West Division. They currently sit second in their division. They win twice as many games at home than on the road. But the Dukes will be hungry and well motivated by the time their bus pulls into Georgetown.

On Friday, the Dukes travel to Lindsay to face a team that has struggled this season, languishing in last spot in the North Division—arguably the weakest of the OJHL. Lindsay has struggled to score, they have the fewest goals of any team in the league. But the Muskies have a track record of causing headaches for the Dukes in recent seasons. Lindsay will be ready to play on Friday.

The following day the Dukes head to Oakville to take on the Blades—another perennially strong team out of the South division. Oakville is in the middle of the pack with a winning percentage of .545. This past weekend they were routed by North York and then Cobourg. The Blades will be in surly mood this weekend.

On Sunday, the Dukes return home to face off against Whitby. The Fury currently sit atop the East division, having won nine of their last 10 games.

There are likely no more important weeks for the Dukes than this one.