Idle hands

Dukes netminder Lucas Machalski stares down the North York Rangers on Friday night.

Dukes hope to rediscover success in a busy weekend of games

As odd as it sounds, the Wellington Dukes are likely looking forward to the busy schedule ahead this weekend. After having played just four games over the past three and half weeks, the Dukes have only one win. Their performance since October 20 runs counter to the assumption that more rest and practice is best.

In fact, the Dukes put together their strongest stretch of games in September as they crisscrossed southern Ontario—playing sometimes three or four games in a week. In the eight days between September 26 and October 2, they’ve played five games. All but one were on the road. They won all five games.

With three games this weekend, the Dukes are looking to get back on a winning track. The Dukes will also welcome the return of Mike Soucier—always an offensive spark plug for this team.

TOUGH LOSS
Meanwhile, it was another heart-breaking loss at home on Friday night. The Dukes faced a fast and determined North York team that decided it would play well above its .500 record— at least on this night. The intensity that both teams brought to the ice in Wellington was breathtaking at times on Friday—particularly early on. The teams moved up and down the ice with speed, confidence and skill. Each side generated good scoring chances. The respective netminders were equal to the task.

The Dukes took the lead late in the first when, on the power play, Steven Deeg swatted in the loose puck after scramble in the North York goaltender’s crease. But two goals by the Rangers in the second—one early, one late— gave North York the lead.

In the third, the Dukes pushed hard to earn the equalizer. Trevor Cope, Abbott Girduckis and Joe McKeown combined to score—tying the game at two.

The Dukes’ intensity abruptly drained away. Inexplicably the Dukes appeared to be resting on the tie score—as if it were a lead. Suddenly the Dukes players were laying back—waiting for someone else to make the play.

It is hard to know what was going through their minds—a win in the overtime? They liked their odds in a shootout?

Joe McKeown had a strong performance on Friday earning hardest working player of the game honours.

Whatever the reason, the speedy Rangers soon had the meek Dukes on their heels. Then with the puck just across the blue line, the Dukes forward had a chance to clear the puck, but dropped back to block the shot. Instead he simply acted as a screen, blocking his netminder’s view of the shot. When it came, it sailed past the forward in nowhere land and found purchase in the top far corner of the Dukes net.

There was just a minute and 48 seconds left in the game. And soon even they were gone. Dukes fans staggered out into the cold night, still trying to make sense the game they had just witnessed.

It was the Dukes third loss in four games.

Worse, it allowed Kingston, by virtue of playing more games, to pull ahead of the Dukes in the OJHL East division. While Wellington still owns a better win percentage than Kingston, the Dukes have slipped behind Buffalo in the league standings.

HARD GOING
Disappointingly, Team Canada East failed to win a single game in the World Junior A Challenge in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia last week. Team USA defeated Russia to win the tournament.

On the bright side, Mike Soucier, the Dukes’ lone representative on the squad, earned five points in four games, including a pair of goals. He was the second most prolific scorer on his team and eighth among all skaters in the elite tournament.

NEW NETMINDER
The Dukes have acquired netminder Tyson Teichman from the Kitchener Rangers. The Belleville, Ontario native has played in more than 130 OHL games over the past four seasons and was a former firstround draft pick by his hometown team. In addition, he won a gold medal for Team Canada U18 in 2011 as well as a silver medal for Team Ontario in 2010.

“We are excited to have Tyson join our club for the season,” said Dukes GM and head coach Marty Abrams in a statement. “He provides experience and leadership, along with his desire to complete his junior hockey career with the Dukes. Our entire organization welcomes Tyson and his family.”

Versatile Chad Thibodeau played at times in both the forward and defence position in his first game as a Wellington Duke.

 UP NEXT: MILTON, KINGSTON AND AURORA

 By David Brown

The Wellington Dukes will be in Kingston Thursday before coming home for a pair of games this weekend. This will be the start of a 10 games-in-17-days stretch for the Dukes after going through a quiet portion of their schedule of late.

Milton Icehawks: When the Dukes moved from the Metro to the Ontario Junior Hockey League in 1998, Milton was the defending back-to-back playoff champions and split their two Dudley Hewitt Cup appearances, losing in 1997 before winning their lone title in 1998. They were known as the Merchants before changing their name in 2003 to the Icehawks. With Milton playing in the West Division and the Dukes in the East-Division the two teams have rarely met and I’ve been only able to find one previous meeting. On September 21. 2003 the Dukes knocked off Milton 6 – 3 in a game played in Mississauga in front of many scouts at the league showcase weekend. Brent Varty led the winners with a hat trick while Wayne Savage picked up the win in net.

Milton has won only one playoff round in the past six seasons and the current team is in third place in their division. Their roster has quite the mixed bag with five 20-year-olds and a league high four 16-year-olds. Despite being around the .500 mark, they went into league-leading Buffalo on Monday and defeated the Jr. Sabres 5 – 2. One of their goalies, 16-year-old Ben Blacker, was the only West Division player chosen for the recent Team Canada East roster. Another 16 year old, number 15 TJ Fergus, leads their defencemen in points while 20- year-old forward number 18 Shane Bennett leads the team in points and is a former Junior Sabre.

Aurora Tigers: If you attend the game this Sunday you will be watching two of the three league franchise’s that have won multiple Dudley Hewitt Cups. They, along with the Oakville Blades, each have two cup championships. The Tigers won in 2004 and 2007. Since then, there have been mixed results. In 2011 they missed the playoffs, while last season they ended up in first place in the North Division and were seeded second in the North/East Conference before being upset by the number 7 seed Lindsay Muskies in six games.

Their current team is one of the oldest with eight twenty-year-olds with one of them, number 19 Kory Kennedy, their leading scorer. Duke fans may remember Kory when he played for the Stouffville Spirit in the 2011 playoffs with the Dukes coming out on top in an exciting six-game series. Their top defenseman is number 24 Eric Williams, while their net duties are shared by Andy Munroe, with the league best GAA, and Kevin Entmaa.