Hard work

Steven Deeg is proving to be a rugged and reliable force at both ends of the ice for the Dukes. The 20-year-old has three goals and an assist in his first five games as a Wellington Duke.

Dukes learn early what it takes to win in the OJHL

It was the game the Wellington Dukes needed. It was the game the will need to find each and every game this season if they intend to make a serious challenge for the Dudley Hewitt Cup.

In its home opener against the Georgetown Raiders, the Dukes faced a very good team—in some ways a mirror of themselves and Dukes teams of the past. Fast. Skilled. Committed.

But the Dukes had been uneven to begin the season—winning just one of three games on the road. Each game had been winnable, but in three games they hadn’t yet managed to put together a complete 60-minute effort. The result was evident in the scoreboard.

So Friday’s opener in Wellington was an important early test. Could they keep up with the intensity, speed and effort offered by the Georgetown Raiders?

The answer proved to be a clear yes. From the moment the puck dropped, the Dukes decided the pace of the game. They decided that they would work harder than their opponents. And they won the game. It was that simple.

It remains to be seen whether the young Dukes have fully absorbed the lesson they learned on Friday night. But they now know they have the players, the ability and the conditioning to compete with the very best teams in the league. It was important for all to see that.

DUKES 4- RAIDERS 1
The Dukes were dominant in the first period— solid structured play in their own end and smooth transitions through the neutral zone culminating in a series good scoring chances. But it was the Raiders who would score first. A neat drop pass on a well-organized rush allowed the late winger to drill a low shot to the far corner through traffic.

Forward Abbott Girduckis looks for the loose puck as Georgetown netminder Michael Stiliaidis turns a shot away with his blocker.

The Dukes’ rush kept coming. An increasingly frustrated Georgetown squad began using their sticks rather than their legs to try and slow the hardworking Dukes down. That led to a series of penalties. On one of these power play opportunities, defenceman Andrew Coupland slid a pass into Mike Soucier’s wheelhouse on the opposite point. Soucier’s laser shot sailed into the far corner. Georgetown infractions continued to pile up. With a two-man advantage, Coupland found daylight between the pipe and the Georgetown netminder. The Dukes had the lead. They would not let it go again.

When the first period was over the Dukes had outshot the Raiders 21 to 8.

In the second period the Dukes kept coming. They kept working every shift. Georgetown came out more disciplined and focused on regaining the lead. But it wasn’t enough. Midway through the frame Steven Deeg found Erick Delaurentis with pass behind the Raiders’ net. Delaurentis deposited a well-practiced wraparound goal into the net for a 3-1 lead.

Deeg buried an empty-net goal late in the game to seal the win for the Dukes.

Lucas Machalski went the distance in net turning away 38 shots.

DUKES 5 – WHITBY 4—SHOOTOUT
On Sunday afternoon it seemed the Dukes had carried lessons learned on Friday night into the game in Whitby. After battling through a couple of early penalties, the Dukes settled down and jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period on goals from Delaurentis, Trevor Cope and Andrew Coupland.

They believed the game was over. Whitby had other ideas.

The Fury’s Mike Panowyk set up three straight goals to tie the game in the second period. Stunned, the Dukes scrambled to get their legs moving again. Fortunately, Whitby penalties gave the Dukes a five on three advantage. Spencer Turcotte scored to restore the Dukes’ lead.

But three minutes later the Fury scored again—once again Panowyck the playmaker— to tie the game at four goals. In the third both teams battled hard—neither wanting to make a mistake. Similarly the overtime period couldn’t break the tie.

In the shootout—winger Luc Brown was tagged first. Brown moved wide and found the netminder’s five-hole. The Whitby shooter failed to score. Then Trevor Cope beat the netminder high. Again Machalski beat the Whitby shooter. The Dukes escaped with the win—and perhaps a bit wiser.

Andrew Coupland is emerging as a potent weapon on the power play with both his weekend goals scored while his team had the man-advantage. He also set up Mike Soucier power play goal on Monday.

UP NEXT: HAMILTON, STOUFFVILLE, NEWMARKET AND COBOURG
The Dukes travel to Hamilton on Thursday night to face the Hamilton Red Wings, currently sharing the best winning percentage in the league. It has been several years since the Dukes have travelled to the end of Lake Ontario to face the Red Wings who have been woeful in recent seasons. The team’s faithful are enjoying Hamilton’s early success in the 2013/14 season. The Dukes look to dampen that enthusiasm on Thursday evening.

The Stouffville Spirit come to Wellington on Friday night. Stouffville has struggled getting out of the gates this season with just one regular- time win and a shootout win in four games. But Stouffville is always a competitive team and will be expected to improve its record very soon. The Dukes, however, will be looking to extend their winning streak before hometown fans.

On Sunday the Dukes travel to Oakville to face Newmarket in the Governors Showcase. It will be the Dukes first game against former Wellington players Nik Coric, Cam Nicoll and Greg Christmas. Coric has 10 points including six goals with Newmarket so far this season. Nicoll has nine points including three goals.

Newmarket bolted out of the starting blocks with four straight wins this season, fuelled in part by Coric and Nicoll. But the Hurricanes have cooled in the past few games with just one win in their last three.

The Dukes know this game has special significance and dare not come home with a loss at the hands of their former teammates.

Gluttons for hard work on the road, the Dukes will travel to Cobourg on Monday night facing the Cougars who sit just one point back of Kingston, who are tied with Trenton for first place.

The following Wednesday the Dukes will board the bus again—this time to travel to Aurora. Then back in Wellington on Friday against Trenton

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Dan Lacosta

Former Dukes netminder Dan Lacosta (2001- 2002) played just one season with the Dukes as a 15- year-old. In that season he led the OJHL with the lowest goals against average. He moved on to the OHL and eventually signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL where he received his first shutout in just his second start for the Blue Jackets. But, alas, most of his career was spent with Syracuse in the AHL. Hailing from Labrador City Lacosta was only the second goaltender in Newfoundland and Labrador history to play in the NHL.

Now, according to Dukes stats and research whiz Dave Brown, Lacosta is stopping pucks for the Cardiff Devils in the United Kingdom’s Elite Ice Hockey League. He is also studying for his masters degree in Wales.