Heckuva thing

Dukes ride a three-game streak as they get set to welcome Trenton next Friday

It was some week for the Dukes of Wellington. After Dryden Riley turned away 52 shots in a scarcely attended and improbable victory on Wednesday, the Dukes struggled to get by the woeful Cobourg Cougars at home on Friday night. (Zach Carrier salvaged the two points with a penalty shot goal in the second overtime. We’ll explain in a bit.)

Then on Saturday night, they defeated the Hurricanes—possibly their first round playoff opponent—in Newmarket. Three wins in three games. It was an important statement. At the right point in the season.

WELLINGTON 3 – MILTON 1
This was, according to some grizzled veteran Dukes fans, the best game of the season, so far. Milton is a nationally ranked squad, currently perched third in the OJHL West.

Just 30 seconds into the game, the Milton forward, Josh Currie, skated end to end, through the Dukes team to give the Menace the lead. It felt as though it could be a long night.

But then Dryden Riley and the Dukes defence erected a wall—a barrier nothing could penetrate. Milton pounded the Dukes net with 24 shots in the first period. Nothing was getting by Riley.

Early in the second, working with a twoman advantage, Liam Campbell, scored on the power play. The Dukes built on that lead just three minutes later when Sammy Longo potted his fourth goal of the season.

Then the Dukes ran into penalty trouble of their own. Four minor calls in quick succession— including a brief five-man on three defensive stint.

Yet, the Dukes weathered the period. The Milton Menace kept coming. Plenty of shots. But mostly from the outside. Riley turned them all away.

After Milton pulled their netminder, Evan Erwin broke up the Menace play. To Landon Marleau. To Liam Campbell, who buried the empty-netter.

A heckuva game.

WELLINGTON 4 – COBOURG 3 OT2
This was a very different game. Cobourg has endured a tough season—unable to secure a win since early November. The team has stabilized somewhat in January. Narrowed the losing margin.

So the hometown Dukes fans didn’t expect Cobourg to snag the early lead. But there it was, just seconds in—on Justin Doak’s hooking penalty—the Cougars scored. But 26 seconds later, Will Mitchell put the puck in Zach Carrier’s wheelhouse, and the game was tied again.

Cut to early in the second, rinse and repeat. The Cougars scored 30 seconds into the period. Fortyfour seconds later, Dukes captain Sacha Trudel swung down the left wing, curled around the defenceman and buried the equalizer.

The game was a frustrating one to watch as the Dukes clearly had the stronger horses, but Cobourg wanted it more. Wellington would dominate for a time, then Cobourg would put the Dukes on their heels.

Royden Smith was solid, but the proud Cougars could sense their first victory in 2026 was within their grasp.

And so it was that, late in the third, an astonishingly poor decision by a Dukes defender led to a two-on-one break for the Cougars. Top shelf where grandma hides the cookies. The game was tied. Inexplicably tied.

Both teams created opportunities in the first overtime. Some toque-clutching moments for the hometown fans on Friday night. But midway through the three-on-three overtime period, Zach Carrier found open ice and skated hard to the net, with the Cobourg defender hacking at him the entire way. Penalty shot.

Carrier swooped wide left. The Cobourg netminder came out aggressively. Carrier moved right. Backhand. Goal. The Dukes had subdued the Cougars.

WELLINGTON 6 – NEWMARKET 4
By the end of the first period, the Hurricanes had a 2-1 lead—two Newmarket goals punctuated by Carrier’s 29th of the season, on the power play.

In the second period, the Dukes came out on fire. Three unanswered goals. Tristan Williams with his eighth, Cole Ellis, his seventh and Aiden Lee, his eighth. Cain Tucker assisted on Ellis’s and Lee’s goals.

Newmarket bounced back in the third with a pair of goals, including a power-play goal, to tie the game 4-4. It was Landon Marleau who, with just seven minutes remaining in regulation time, found the net—the go ahead goal. Carrier added an empty-netter to seal the critical victory

UP NEXT: TRENTON
Just one game on tap this week as the Dukes welcome the Trenton Golden Hawks to Wellington on Friday night. It will be the third game between the teams this season. Wellington took the first game in September, while the Golden Hawks edged the Dukes in January.

Trenton sits firmly atop the East Conference standings and is currently riding a six-game winning streak. Parking will be hard to find for this game.