Grit and determination

How the Dukes find themselves leading OJHL final series

Darcy Greenway fends off an Oakville defender draped over him in Sunday's game against the Blades. Greenaway later scored a highlight reel goal helping his team in a 5-2 win.

Oakville will have to be sensational over the next week or so to outdo the excitement of the Stouffville Spirit. With speed, precision, a structured game plan as well as the discipline to play as a team, Stouffville Spirit pushed the Wellington Dukes to the very limit in the semifinal series of the OJHL. No game was mailed in. No outcome a certainty until the final buzzer-each team committed to giving their all for victory.

Game six in Stouffville was the topper. With a large and energetic contingent of fans who travelled from Wellington cheering them on, the Dukes stepped onto the ice. Unlike past series, a larger crowd of hometown fans matched full-throated cheering.

Joe Zarbo scored first, giving the Dukes the lead. Stouffville came back in the second to score as the Dukes tried to reassemble after killing a penalty. Then Sean Rudy took over, scoring two in the second period.

With more than two minutes left in the third, Stouffville pulled their netminder for an extra forward. It worked. Christian Finch scored with two minutes and ten seconds left in the game and series.

It was up to Jordan Ruby. Stouffville’s impressive forwards pounded the Dukes net. In a previous series, the upstart Stouffville had used this tactic to snatch the series win from league leading Newmarket. Ruby was simply brilliant—as were his defenders around him.

But with just a few seconds left on the clock, Stouffville managed to find a forward open on the far side of the net. The player took a well-practised swipe at the puck toward the open side of the net. It was a sure goal. But, improbably, Ruby’s left pad shot across the crease—in time to bar the puck from the net. Four seconds later the buzzer sounded and the Dukes had made it to the OJHL finals.

Dukes Coach and General Manager Marty Abrams was just as happy as the throng of fans in the stands.

“It was a great series,” said Abrams. “It was just hockey. As it should be. Nothing after the whistle. Just two teams going at it as hard as they could.”

Rudy shone in the series and has become a dominant force in the Dukes’ playoff run.

“The last couple of games in the Stouffville series Sean has taken the team and put it on his shoulders as a captain should,” said Abrams. “He is Messier and Sutterlike in his approach, grinding it out, working for everything he gets.

Sean Rudy scored twice to lift his team to victory in the sixth and deciding game against Stouffville last week.

“He wouldn’t let us lose. He is on a mission right now. He is in a different zone than the rest of us and he knows where he wants to go and what it takes to get there.”

Before the game Sean Rudy learned he had received a scholarship to attend Division 1 school Bemidji State in Minnesota in the fall.

“I couldn’t be happier for him about the scholarship. It was long overdue. I can’t believe it took this long for a D1 school to recognize the incredible talent and leadership in this young man. Bemidji is a great school and an incredible hockey program out there. His patience has paid off.”

Jordan Ruby, too, has risen to the fore in the playoffs, helping to propel his team into the OJHL Finals.

“The goaltending he’s provided to this team in the regular season and into the playoffs should never be taken for granted,” said Abrams. “His mindset, his focus and preparation is above and beyond the Junior ‘A’ level.”

OJHL FINAL – GAME ONE

The Dukes opened up a three-goal lead in the first period on markers from Darcy Murphy, Cam Yuill and Brendon Barletta. But no one in the Essroc Arena believed the Oakville Blades were going away this easily. And on cue, with Simon Bessette in the box for highsticking, Oakville scored to narrow the Dukes’ lead to two goals. But while the Blades pressed, they could not beat Ruby.

Late in the period Darcy Greenaway barrelled down his wing with the puck, barging in on net. On his way by he slipped the puck past the Oakville netminder, restoring the three-goal lead.

Early in the third Bessette finished off a fine rush by Jan Kaminsky and set up by Rudy. On yet another power play, Oakville scored their second of the game—a clear signal to the Dukes players to stay out of the penalty box.

“The key to success in this series is keeping our feet moving, using our team speed and keeping the puck moving,” said Abrams. “This is a team that likes to wait around and knows how to take advantage of its opportunities. “I could see it a couple of times in the second and third period, we stopped skating and they were allowed to make plays through the neutral zone. They can lull you into a false sense of security, but then burst out with a couple of goals.”

Abrams fully expects to see a much different Oakville team tonight.

“I think we caught them a bit tired. They were coming off a big game seven on Friday.

“They are a veteran team and older group of players so it will certainly be a different game on Wednesday and back here on Friday.

“We learned that we have to move the puck and stay out of the penalty box,” said Abrams.