Familiar faces

Former Dukes goaltender comes back to haunt club

For the second time this season, the Aurora Tigers have pounced on the Wellington Dukes.

And in this latest episode of Wellington playing down to a Tabbies team struggling to reach the .500 mark, it was a familiar face keeping locals from the winner’s circle.

Goaltender Colby Booth-Housego, last seen in these parts tending the Wellington net in January 2026 before he was dealt to the St. Marys Lincolns of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, took the visitors’ mesh mansion on Friday night at Heidelberg Materials Arena.

It’s unknown to this correspondent if the Kitchener product had something to prove to his former Jr. A club Friday night, but his level of play indicated as much.

Booth-Housego was brilliant, making 38 stops as the Tigers skated off with a 4-2 win.

It was the only action on the weekend for Wellington, who fell to 11-6-3 and found themselves leapfrogged by Cobourg for second place in the Eastern Conference.

SAD SACK SECOND
The Dukes and Tigers traded scoring chances in the first, but neither side could bulge twine.

Booth-Housego came up big on the penalty kill early in the second, uncoiling like a cobra along the goal line and denying Cooper Woron on a tap-in effort.

Off the ensuing faceoff, Aurora would control the puck, and a miscue at the blue line created a 2-on-1 rush that saw Tommy Nitsopolous convert a Max Skinner feed at 1:52 to put the visitors in front 1-0.

Later in the frame, it was Booth- Housego and the Aurora defence denying a Jayden Levesque partial breakaway seconds before Skinner managed to get to the side of the Wellington net and tap home his 12th of the season.

And it was pretty clear at that juncture it was going to be one of those nights for the Dukes.

Skinner added insult to injury with less than two minutes left as he set up Sebastien Catalano for the Newmarket native’s first of the year.

Up 3-0 after 40 minutes, the Cats continued to pile on. Thomas Leone scored early in the third to erase any lingering doubt this was going to be Aurora’s night, given the leather-bound acts of larceny that were being demonstrated by Booth- Housego.

Presley Kelly-Wright finally solved the Aurora goalie at the midway point, and Justin Doak added a solo effort at the 13:15 mark to make it close, but the night belonged to Booth- Housego.

Wellington was shorthanded for this one as Gavin Godick was with the U17 Team Canada program. Regulars Mason Raycroft and Zach Mascard were also out of the lineup.

UP NEXT
The Dukes host St. Mike’s on Friday night and then travel to North York to battle the Rangers on Sunday.

Next Friday, the Dukes are in Belleville at CIBC Place as the Battle of Quinte neutral-site game featuring the locals and the Trenton Golden Hawks returns to the sporting schedule. The game is part of the Belleville Senators Hockey Weekend in Quinte event. Tickets for the game are available through Ticketmaster or at the Senators box office.